Surprise!
by iGymnast
Summary: Harry is sixteen, and now has the burden no sixteen-year-old should have: a baby. But what does Draco Malfoy have to do with anything? NOT SLASH, I PROMISE! Sex referenced, no OotP, HBP, or DH. Rated T for some severe language.
1. Prologue

This is my new story, I hope you all like it.

Surprise! by iGymnast

Prologue

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"Where are you going, young man!" Petunia Dursley screeched at her nephew.

"I am _going_," Harry Potter said defiantly, "for a walk. And if you have a problem with that, I'm sure my godfather would be most willing to speak with you." Petunia got a defeated look on her face and sighed in acquiescence. Harry nodded, satisfied, and stalked to the park.

He sat on a swing, contemplating an owl he'd received from the headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry two weeks ago.

Flashback

Harry was doing chores inside when Fawkes, Headmaster Dumbledore's phoenix, had come soaring into number four, Privet Drive.

"Hey there, Fawkes," the fifteen year old said as he stroked the bird. "What do you have for me today?" Fawkes stuck out his leg, and Harry untied the letter the beautiful creature carried.

_Dear Harry,_

_I need to speak with you in the near future about certain things. If you and your relatives are amiable, I will Floo to your home precisely three weeks from this Sunday to collect you. You will come with me to Hogwarts for a few hours, then I will take you to the Weasleys' residence. Please send your reply back with Fawkes._

_Regards,_

Professor Dumbledore

Harry had written his consent on a sheet of Muggle newspaper and tied it to Fawkes's leg.

"Take this to the headmaster, all right?" Harry told the phoenix, which gave an awkward sort of nod as it soared out of sight.

_**End Flashback**_

"Harry?" he heard a feminine voice ask. He held his wand at the ready in his sleeve as he turned around.

"Chrissy Anderson. I used to sit behind you in primary school, remember?" the girl asked. She was a pretty girl-- long brunette hair, and gorgeous dark blue eyes. She wasn't very tall, maybe five foot four, but she was very slim, and had a nice figure.

"Yeah, I remember," Harry said.

"Where're you going to school now?" Chrissy asked.

"Err, St. Brutus's," Harry lied uneasily.

"Really? I like bad boys," she said, sitting in his lap seductively.

"Yeah, well, what can I say," Harry said, desperately trying to stand.

"Where are you going?" she pouted. "My birthday's coming up, and I wanted a special present from you."

"Err, I've got to go," Harry said, embarrassed.

"No, you don't," she said, her voice huskily seductive.

"You know, Harry, I've had a crush on you since primary school," she said as she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the lips. She grabbed him by the hand and led him to her house.

"My parents aren't home yet," she whispered conspiratorially.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_She clearly wasn't a virgin_, Harry thought to himself in the week that ensued.

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So here's the prologue. I realize it's extremely short (only two pages-- eek!), but that's the prologue. Chapter one is longer, I promise. I should have it uploaded soon enough. Please please please please please PLEASE review! :)


	2. Then Came Baby

I know I uploaded these two chapters at the same time, but I'd really enjoy it if people would review both chapters, so I can

I know I uploaded these two chapters at the same time, but I'd really enjoy it if people would review both chapters, so I can fix my mistakes and make it better. And as always, thank you for reading!

Chapter One: Then Came Baby

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One year later: June 1st

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Harry got out of his uncle's station wagon at number four, Privet Drive.

"I'll be home later, boy, and I expect my dinner ready," Vernon growled.

"Yes, sir," Harry mumbled. Vernon took off down the street.

"Harry, I must speak with you immediately," Petunia said. "In my room." Harry nodded and followed her in.

"I got a telephone call from Mr. and Mrs. Anderson around the corner a few weeks ago," Petunia informed him. "Do you know their daughter-- Chrissy, I believe her name is?"

"Yeah," he said cautiously. Petunia sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Harry, did you ever have sex with her?" she asked straight out. Harry looked taken aback.

"Well, once, last summer, near the end of August," Harry said uncomfortably. He was clearly very reluctant to discuss this with his aunt.

"Mr. and Mrs. Anderson called me nearly three weeks ago. They said Chrissy disappeared at the end of November and didn't turn up until this May. A hospital called her parents and told her they had her there. Chrissy committed suicide. She was pregnant," Petunia said gently. "The doctors couldn't save her, but they saved the baby. They found a note in her pocket with two things written down: the baby's name, and the father. Harry, she wrote you down as the father."

"She...I...what?!" Harry said, still in total shock.

"She claimed you are the father. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson were willing to watch her until you got home from your school," Petunia said, still refusing to use the word "magic", "when you could collect the baby from them. They want nothing to do with her or you."

"Fine," Harry said. "And I'm assuming Uncle Vernon has no knowledge of this?"

"None whatsoever," Petunia confirmed. "If there's anywhere you could go, I'd suggest you go there."

"Yeah, fine, I'll go to the manors," Harry sighed. _How did this happen_? he wondered. _Maybe I can go to Grimmauld Place, and Sirius can help me. No, I'd better not._

Harry left number four, Privet Drive, watching carefully for anyone watching him, and walked to the Andersons' house.

"Who's there?" a woman's voice called.

"My name's Harry Potter, ma'am," Harry called. The door opened, and the woman slapped his face. _I guess I deserve that,_ Harry thought, willing himself not to rub his stinging cheek.

"Let him take the baby and leave," a man's voice said irritably. The woman pointed Harry to a door all the way at the end of the hall, which Harry assumed was the baby's room. He opened the door to find a tiny little girl sleeping soundly.

"Take whatever's there," the woman's voice floated down the hall. "We have no use for it." Harry wandlessly made the diaper bag larger and packed everything into it. Lastly, he carefully picked up the baby (_How am I supposed to hold her?_ he wondered), who looked so very much like him, and yet like Chrissy also; she had Chrissy's nose, but she had his black hair. He left the Andersons' place and walked back to number four.

"Can I use the fireplace?" Harry asked, making sure Vernon wasn't home yet.

"Leave quickly," Petunia said hurriedly. "Vernon just called, he'll be home any minute." He quickly took out a small container of Floo powder, threw it on the fire he had wandlessly made, and shouted, "Potter Manor, Ireland!" He grabbed all his and the baby's things, being very careful with the tiny infant, and stepped into the flames. He stepped out into a perfectly neat sitting room, with the exception of the baby toys littered over the floor.

"I must have been a baby the last time I was here," Harry said aloud, his voice echoing in the huge manor.

"Welcome home, baby," the new father said, cradling his daughter. Come to think of it, he didn't know his daughter's name, but he had grabbed her birth certificate in his mad rush to collect her things.

"Leah Lily Potter," Harry said, reading the certificate. "How fitting."

"Well, Miss Leah, let's find a room for you," the Boy-Who-Lived said as he carried the still-sleeping baby upstairs.

"This must have been my room," he commented as he took in all the baby things in the first room. "The blue paint's gotta go, though." And he wandlessly made the blue paint purple.

"Better," he nodded with satisfaction. He placed her in the crib (kept in pristine condition by a good old Anti-Dust Charm), placed a wandless monitoring charm on her, and continued his stroll through the manor.

"Is there anybody here?" he called out as he entered the kitchen. With several loud pops, seven house elves appeared in front of him.

"Master Harry," they breathed.

"Uhm, hi," he said embarrassedly.

"Master Harry has returned to Potter Manor," one house elf said.

"Yep," Harry said.

"With a Baby Potter!" another house elf added as it popped into the kitchen.

"Right," Harry said, somewhat disconcerted by the amount of elves.

"We house elves is staying right here all the years that Master James and Mistress Lily is leaving us," one house elf said proudly.

"James and Lily...died," Harry said quietly. "Almost fifteen years ago." Two house elves began to sob.

"They is just sad, Master Harry," another house elf said soberly. "They is okay."

"I is Johnny, Master Harry," the house elf said, seeming to sense the teenager's discontent. "Youse just says Johnny's name, and Johnny will be there right quick. Yes, sir?"

"Sure thing," Harry agreed. He left the house elves to give himself a tour of his manor. On a whim, he called out, "Dobby!"

"Master Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby exclaimed. "Dobby is wondering where Master Harry Potter went! Everyone at Hogwarts is worried about Master Harry, sir!"

"They know I left?" Harry frowned. Dobby nodded, his ears flapping as he bounced.

"Miss Nymphadora is coming to see Master Dumbledore, and she is saying that youse is disappearing!" Dobby told him.

"How're you liking Hogwarts?" Harry asked.

"I is liking it very much, Master Harry Potter sir," Dobby said earnestly.

"Dobby must be going, Master Harry Potter sir," the house elf said after a moment. "Dobby left Winky making dinner, and she is needing help."

"Bye, Dobby," Harry said as the little elf popped out of sight. Suddenly, wails and screams filled the manor.

"Ai," Harry said as he made his way to the nursery. He picked up the screaming baby and rocked her. She settled down after a few moments, sucking happily on the bottle Harry had asked the house elves to whip up.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

After she finished her bottle, Harry carefully carried her down to the sitting room, where he just sat with his baby and watched her sleep.

With a bang, the front door opened. Harry whipped out his wand as a black-haired man walked in.

"Sirius?" he asked in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he retorted. "Everyone's looking for you." Harry quickly realized he was still holding the baby and cringed inwardly.

"Harold James Potter," Sirius breathed as he stared at the sleeping infant. "What the fuck did you do?"

"This is not my fault," Harry said quickly. "Well, okay, it is, but only because she roped me into it!"

"So she is yours," the fugitive said quietly.

"Well, yeah," Harry admitted. "Her mother's a Muggle. I went to primary school with her, and last summer-- I don't know if she was drunk or what-- but she made me come back to her house, and...well..."

"Yes, I get the picture," Sirius said grimly. "So, what were you planning to do with her when school starts? And what's her name, anyway?"

"I was gonna leave her here with the house elves," Harry said lamely. "And her name-- get this-- is Leah Lily Potter."

"Fitting, isn't it," Sirius said. "I'm not gonna give you a lecture, because I think she's" --he gestured to the infant-- "the best lecture you're going to get. Have fun in the middle of the night rocking her to sleep."

"What'd you come here for?" Harry asked.

"I come here when I need to think," Sirius said, gazing out a window overlooking the grounds. "It's always been a nice place for me to think. You?"

"Vernon doesn't know about her," Harry jerked his head in Leah's direction, "so I basically kicked myself out." Sirius didn't look away from the window.

"You know, she could probably do with some human company other than you and me when she gets older," Sirius said.

"You're not alienating me?" Harry asked, looking to his godfather with pleading eyes.

"No," Sirius said firmly. "No matter what you do, I'm still here for you, kid." He shook his head. "Imagine that. Kid, you have a kid!"

"I am not a kid," Harry protested, not unsmilingly. Sirius smirked a classic Black smirk and ruffled his godson's hair, gazing at the infant fondly.

"Would you like to hold her?" Harry asked, humored.

"If you're sure," the ex-prisoner said uncertainly. He sat down, and Harry transferred the baby to his arms. She gave a small sigh and settled into her father's godfather's arms.

"She's adorable," Sirius whispered. "She looks like you did when you were a baby." Suddenly, she woke up. She opened her eyes, yawned, and stared at Sirius wide-eyed.

"Hi, honey," he cooed. "I'm your daddy's godfather. We're gonna have a lot of fun together."

"How old is she?" the man asked.

"Two weeks," Harry replied. "Her birthday is May 18."

"You're not leaving her here with the house elves," Sirius said matter-of-factly. "I know she's your daughter and your responsibility, but I really don't think you should leave her with the house elves. They're great and all, but small children shouldn't be left with them."

"Well, what should I do with her, then?" Harry challenged.

"Leave her at you-know-where with me," Sirius said, looking into his godson's face, which held an impassive look.

"I don't know, Sirius," Harry said slowly. "How're we going to do that without telling everyone she's mine? And what if you have to go on a mission?"

"I'll tell Dumbledore I'm baby-sitting my friend's kid," Sirius invented.

"And how do we explain my frequent visits?" Harry returned.

"You got to play with her over the summer," Sirius concocted. "You took a liking to her, and want to see her often. That's not a lie."

"How on earth did Chrissy rope me into this?" Harry muttered to himself.

"Chrissy? Is that her mother?" Sirius asked expectantly, rocking Leah gently.

"Yeah," Harry said wearily. He sank down into one of several oversized couches.

"How did you get the baby, anyway?" Sirius asked.

"When I got to the Dursleys' house after Vernon dropped me off, Petunia told me Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, Chrissy's parents, had called. They'd said Chrissy had run off the beginning of November, and turned up at a hospital in May. She had attempted to commit suicide," Harry said, looking without seeing out the window. "The Muggle doctors couldn't save her, but they saved the baby. They found a note in her pocket with the baby's name and my name for the father. The Andersons didn't want Leah, so they wanted me to come take her away and never be in contact with them again. I guess they figure it's our fault their daughter's dead."

"How did you feel about her?" Sirius asked gently, being surprisingly mature.

"I don't know. She's a Muggle," Harry said emotionlessly.

"Muggles are people, too," Sirius said tenderly.

"I know, but..." Harry trailed off. "I don't know how I felt about her."

"Do you feel like it's your fault she passed away?" Sirius pressed.

"Well, yeah," Harry said in a "duh, obviously" voice. "I mean, I got her into this mess."

"Who seduced who?" Sirius interrupted.

"She seduced me," Harry said slowly, not quite catching on.

"If she hadn't seduced you, would you have...with her?" Sirius asked uncomfortably. He did not like these kinds of conversations, but he knew he had to make Harry understand it was the girl's own fault she was dead.

"Probably not," Harry admitted. "But still--"

"Well, then there's your answer," Sirius interrupted again. "If it hadn't been for her, none of this would have happened. End of discussion."

"I still can't help but feel like it's my fault, though," Harry said.

"I feel like it's my fault James and Lily are dead," Sirius said gently. "If I had been their Secret Keeper, then Wormtail wouldn't have gone running to Voldemort, and you would still have parents, and you wouldn't have met that Muggle girl."

"It's not your fault they're dead!" Harry said fiercely. "It was Peter's choice to go running to Voldemort!"

"And it was Chrissy's choice to have sex with you," Sirius added, equally fiercely. "Did you...participate?" _I now officially hate this girl and this conversation,_ Sirius thought to himself.

"No, but..." Harry said. Sirius closed his eyes momentarily, trying to get the mental image of his godson having sex out of his mind.

"But you didn't want to, did you?" Sirius pushed.

"No," Harry shook his head slowly.

"Then it's not your fault," Sirius said triumphantly. "Now let's go."

"Why can't we stay here for the summer?" Harry whined.

"Better get some cheese with that wine," Sirius told Harry seriously. "We can't stay here because the wards are not up-to-date or even decent, for that matter. Now let's go."

"Isn't everyone going to know I'm at Grimmauld Place, though?" Harry asked.

"Yes," Sirius said. "That's rather the point."

"But if they know where I am, then they'll never leave me alone!" Harry exclaimed.

"Then let's tell Dumbledore, and he can tell everyone else that he knows where you are and you are perfectly safe," Sirius suggested.

"Fine," Harry grumbled. "But he can't know Leah's mine, or he'll make her a pawn in his little game."

"And if Voldemort knows..." Sirius trailed off. Harry shuddered at the thought of what the terror could do to his little girl.

"Fine, let's go," Harry said grudgingly. Sirius nodded. Harry raised a hand.

"Accio Leah's things!" Harry called. His daughter's belongings came floating down the stairs.

"Aren't you going to get a thing from the Ministry about the Decree For The Use of Underage Magic?" Sirius asked sternly.

"They don't detect wandless magic, only the use of wands," Harry informed him.

"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!" Sirius called out as he threw Floo powder on the fire in the sitting room. He grabbed the baby's stuff and stepped into the flames. Harry, holding Leah, stepped through right after him.

"Is she okay?" Sirius asked as Harry stepped into number twelve, Grimmauld Place.

"She's fine," Harry assured him. "I've traveled the Floo network with her before." Sirius nodded.

"Headmaster Dumbledore's office, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Sirius shouted into the green flames.

* * *

So there is Chapter 1!! I hope you liked it. Let me know what you're thinking, please. I enabled anonymous reviews. ) Please please please please please PLEASE review!!

PS I have a Yahoo! Group now. Here's the website:

groups./group/igymnast/

So, join my group and review, please!! :)


	3. Operation Hide Harry's Baby

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except Leah and Chrissy. :D So don't sue, please, it's not very nice.

Thanks to all who reviewed, and I'm sorry it took me so long to upload:

coolblue110-- chapter two, just as promised! :)

murgy31-- thank you!

munchnzoey-- thanks!

gypsyboho (anonymous reviewer)-- I almost cried when I read your review. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I think you get reviewer of the year award, if there is such a thing. :D Thank you!

I realized when I reread the chapter online that FFN messed up the URL for my yahoo! group. There is a link to it on my profile, if you'd like to go take a look. I can't remember the URL right now. I'm having problems thinking today. :)

**QUICK NOTE:** I just got a reviewer who was confused about the part on the platform in this chapter. So I rewrote that part and reuploaded. I hope this clears it up!

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Chapter Two: Operation Hide Harry's Baby

"Sirius! You returned from Potter Manor quite quickly," Dumbledore said genially. "Is everything all right?" His old, wrinkled face creased with worry lines.

"You might wish to step through," Sirius said grimly.

"Of course! I shall be there in moments," the headmaster reassured him. Both he and Harry stepped back from the fire, and the old wizard stepped into the sitting room of number twelve, Grimmauld Place minutes later.

"Harry! You have been found!" Dumbledore exclaimed cheerfully. He took a closer look at the bassinet across the room.

"And who is this little one? Is she yours, Harry?" the wizard asked. Harry could already see the wheels turning in his head.

"No, Albus, she belongs to a friend of mine," Sirius stepped in. "She needed someone to watch the child, and I volunteered."

"This ought to be quite interesting, will it not, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, looking up from the baby. His eyes were twinkling.

"Very," Harry agreed. Sirius smirked at Harry, who smiled cheekily.

"Brat," Sirius teased.

"Who, me?" the Boy-Who-Lived asked innocently.

"Anyways, Harry and I wanted to speak with you immediately," Sirius told the headmaster. "It seems Harry wants to be left alone this summer."

"What shall I tell the Weasleys, and the Order?" Dumbledore countered.

"Tell them you know where I am, and I am perfectly safe?" Harry suggested. "No offense, Professor, but everybody's depending on me for everything. I just want a summer to myself."

"Perfectly understandable," the old wizard conceded. "If you agree, Harry, and you, Sirius, I think it would be best for you to remain here for the rest of the summer."

"Sirius?" Harry asked, playing along. Sirius gave a long-suffering sigh.

"Fine," he huffed. Harry smiled widely.

"Excellent!" Dumbledore exclaimed, clasping his hands together. "Then I must be going. Have an excellent summer, Harry," he added as he stepped into the fire.

"Well, now that that's all settled," Sirius said, turning to the baby in the bassinet, "let's take you upstairs, little missy." She was now wide awake, and gurgled happily when Harry picked her up.

"Let's go," Harry said with a nod. Sirius nodded, grabbed the baby's things, and followed his godson upstairs. Harry turned to enter the room he had always occupied.

"No," Sirius said before he entered the room. The Boy-Who-Lived turned around.

"No?" he asked.

"Ron always takes that room, remember?" Sirius reminded him. "I cleaned out the attic the other day, I was so bored. We'll just have to do some quick conjuring, and it'll be fine." Harry nodded, and took the stairs up to the attic.

"It's nice up here," Harry commented. The walls were a cream color, and there was one large window on the wall, letting in plenty of sunlight. There was an oak door opposite the door they had come through, and another door next to that one. The floor and walls were bare.

"One way glass," Sirius said, pointing to the window. "You can see out, no one can see in." With a quick wave of his wand, a bed, a cradle, a changing table, a rocking chair, and a bedside table appeared out of thin air.

"Bathroom's through there," Sirius explained, pointing to the door on the left, "and the kitchenette's through there." He pointed to the door on the right.

"It's like an apartment up here, huh?" Harry said as he set Leah in her cradle.

"Before I ran away to your dad's house, I would always come up here when I needed to get away from everything," Sirius replied wistfully, staring out the window.

"Sirius? Sirius!" a female voice called up the stairs. "Sirius, are you here?"

"Coming, Tonks!" Sirius called. He turned to his godson. "You'll be okay up here?"

"I'll be fine," Harry said reassuringly. Sirius nodded and left, warding the door as he left.

"Merlin, I've got a baby!" he said to himself. "I can't guarantee I'll be the best dad, 'cause I never really had one of my own, but I'll try my best, okay?" Harry kissed the infant's forehead and set her back in the cradle, fast asleep.

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For nearly seven weeks, Harry made himself and Leah unseen and unheard, until a week before school began again September 1st.

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"I wonder where Harry is," Ron's voice floated up the attic stairs. The Weasleys and Hermione had taken up residence at Grimmauld Place a couple of days before.

"I don't know, Ronald, nor did I know the last forty times you asked me," Hermione's voice retorted. "If Dumbledore says he's safe, then we'll have to believe him."

Harry, in the meantime, had become very efficient taking care of his little girl. He'd given her numerous successful baths, changed her diapers proficiently, and handled spitting up well. He was turning into quite the father.

During an Order meeting one evening, an ear-splitting scream erupted into the house.

"What was that?" Molly Weasley demanded.

"Umm…" Sirius hesitated uncomfortably.

"I'm waiting, Sirius," Molly said, tapping her foot audibly. Sirius got up and left the room.

"What happened?" Sirius hissed to his godson as he entered the attic.

"I couldn't get the Silencing Charm on her quick enough! I'm sorry!" Harry hissed back, rocking the little girl whose screams were silenced.

"Sirius?" Molly Weasley's voice called. "Where are you? What was that noise?"

"Get in the kitchenette," Sirius hissed. "I'll just take her down to Molly and tell her I'm baby-sitting." Harry nodded and darted into the kitchenette.

"Wha-- oh my, Sirius, she's gorgeous!" Molly exclaimed as Sirius came down from the attic with the baby. "She's not yours, is she?"

"No, Molly," Sirius laughed heartily, "I am baby-sitting for a friend of mine."

"Oh? Well, she is a cutie," Molly cooed. Sirius passed the baby over.

"Look who I found!" Molly continued to coo as she entered the kitchen with the little bundle. By then, Leah had stopped screaming and was gurgling contentedly.

"What in nine hells," Snape demanded, "are you doing with a baby, Black!"

"I'm baby-sitting, _Snape_," Sirius spat. "Not that it's of your business."

"Who in their right mind would leave _you_ with a baby?" Snape bit back. Sirius ignored him.

"What's her name?" Molly asked, still fussing over the baby.

"Leah," Sirius responded. "She's two months old this week, her mother said." Harry listened in with a pair of Extendable Ears.

_If they do anything to her,_ Harry fumed silently, _there'll be hell to pay._

"Come on, sweetie, let's take you up to bed," Sirius said, taking the yawning baby from Molly.

"Bye, Baby," Molly cooed. Sirius smiled and took her upstairs.

"Be quick with those Silencing Charms!" Sirius whispered as he handed Leah over to her father. "Molly's coddled her enough for one day!" Harry smirked and rocked her to sleep.

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"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed as he walked onto Platform 9 3/4. She looked around behind him.

"Where's Snuffles?" she asked.

"Snuffles had to stay behind," Harry explained.

"Oh, right, I heard he was baby-sitting. She was always sleeping, though, so I never got to see her," the brunette frowned.

"He was baby-sitting? Who in their right mind would ask him to baby-sit?" Harry asked, faking an utterly perplexed look.

"Apparently this friend of his," Hermione shrugged. "Anyway, where were you this summer?"

"I can't-- no, I really can't tell," Harry said over her protests. Harry saw Ron step off the Hogwarts Express.

"Ron!" Hermione called out. "Harry's here!"

"Yes, I can see that," Ron deadpanned. "Mate, where were you this summer?"

"He says he can't tell," Hermione informed the redhead. Ron didn't look surprised.

"I figured he wouldn't be able to," Ron admitted. "I mean, it wouldn't be secret or safe anymore if he could tell, would it?"

"You thought he would blow up about it, didn't you?" Harry asked Hermione teasingly.

"Yes I did, Harry Potter," she snapped smilingly. "Now let's get on that train."

"Harry, dear!" Molly Weasley exclaimed, pulling the boy into a hug. "How was your summer, dear?"

"Oh, don't badger him, honey, the train will leave without him," Arthur said, winking at Harry.

"Yes, dears, now have a good term all of you, and stay out of trouble!" Mrs. Weasley said sternly. "That includes you two, Harry, Hermione."

"You know me, Mrs. Weasley. I like a quiet life," Harry grinned. Mrs. Weasley smiled tearfully.

"Now you just get on the train," she admonished them. Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny clambered on to the train.

"Hello, ickle Ginny!" Harry heard twin voices behind them.

"Go away!" Ginny called over her shoulder. Harry laughed.

"Oi, Harry!" Fred-- at least, Harry thought it was Fred-- called.

"A word?" George added.

"You guys go on ahead," Harry reassured his friends at the skeptical looks. Hermione sighed, and they entered the compartment.

"Get--"

"--in," George finished, opening the door to an empty compartment. Harry took a seat, and Fred and George sat across from him.

"We have--"

"--business deals--"

"--to discuss with you," they finished in unison.

"Shoot," Harry grinned.

"We want to open--"

"--an owl order business--"

"--until we can get a store--"

"--so we can reach--"

"--witches and wizards everywhere," Fred and George explained.

"What do you think?" they asked together.

"Guys, it's your money. I think you would do well with an owl order, but that's up to you," Harry said.

"Well, we feel--"

"--as our financial adviser--"

"--you should have a say," they explained together.

"Go for it, then," Harry said, giving a nod of finality.

"Well, now that that's settled--"

"--you get back to ickle Ginny and Ronniekins--"

"--so they don't worry," they finished. Harry shook his head, wondering how they could talk in cutoff sentences like that, and left the compartment.

"Good luck!" Harry called as they went in the opposite direction. He opened a different compartment door and found Ginny, Ron, Hermione, and Neville looking utterly bored.

"Well, aren't you all just a bucket of sunshine," Harry said sarcastically.

"What'd they want?" Ron asked, sitting up.

"Nothing," Harry said. "They just wanted to ask me a question." Ron shrugged and delved back into his Quidditch magazine.

"Is that Snuffles' owl?" Hermione asked half-interestedly as she gazed out the window.

"Yep, it is," Harry agreed, seeing the dark brown owl soaring to the train.

"Hey there," Harry greeted him as the bird flew in the compartment window. "Have you got a message for me?" The brown owl hooted in response and stuck out its leg.

"Thanks," Harry said as he tore the letter of the owl's leg. "I don't have anything for you. Sorry." The owl hooted irritably and dove back out the window.

_Dear Harry,_

_I hope you are well and not worrying much. I've got it all taken care of. Moony doesn't think I'm a good baby-sitter, but it'll all work out. Have fun with your friends, and I will expect your Floo at eleven tonight._

_Snuffles_

"What is it about?" Hermione asked, peering over his shoulder.

"I asked him about his baby-sitting gig," Harry explained. "And I need to talk to him, so I'm Flooing him tonight. Whose kid is he sitting anyway?"

"Some friend of his," Ron said, not looking up from his magazine. "He wouldn't say who. Personally, I think she's run off with some bloke and stuck him with the kid."

"Maybe," Harry agreed.

"It's not like him to not tell us what's going on," Hermione mused. "I wonder what he's hiding." Harry's heart skipped a beat.

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked nonchalantly.

"He wouldn't say who his friend was," Hermione ticked off, "Mrs. Weasley says she looks like Si-- Snuffles, and she is very young. I say it's his baby, and he's trying to hide that."

"Snuffles? Have a baby?" Harry laughed. "We _are_ talking about the same Snuffles, right?"

"Don't sound so surprised," Hermione chided him. "From what you've seen of him, he is quite a witch's wizard. It's possible."

"Doesn't he stay There all day long?" Harry countered.

"How did he get the baby? I know for a fact that his friend didn't go there. There would have been a change in the magical signatures...unless his friend is in That?" Hermione asked thoughtfully.

"Probably not," Harry said quickly. "He doesn't hang around very much." Hermione nodded agreeably.

"That's true," she conceded. "I wonder who, then..." Harry sighed inwardly. If there was one thing Hermione Granger liked, it was a good mystery. And Merlin himself knew that girl never left a mystery unsolved.

"Would you just drop it, Hermione?" Ron asked from behind his magazine. "No one cares."

"I do!" she replied indignantly.

"We're here," Harry interrupted the argument that was about to commence. The brown-haired girl threw a nasty look at the redhead and stalked out of the compartment.

"Potter!" Harry heard a familiar drawl behind him. He turned around.

"What is it, Malfoy," Harry said irritably. Draco glared expectantly at Harry's friends.

"Well?" Draco demanded.

"Go ahead, you guys," Harry silenced the protests about to ensue. "Go ahead, I'll catch up." Hermione nodded ominously and led the foursome away.

"What is it, Malfoy?" Harry repeated as the blond boy ushered him into a compartment.

"Meet me at the Astronomy Tower tonight at one sharp," Draco said sharply.

"Or?" Harry countered. Draco shrugged.

"Or your loss," Draco said simply. He stood elegantly and left.

* * *

Good? Bad? Wanna chuck a banana at me? Wanna hug me? Review, please! :D

Now, I must be off. I have MCAS tomorrow (don't know what MCAS is? Lucky you. I call it Massachusetts Child Abuse System. Because that's mostly true.) Toodles!


	4. Draco's Story

Disclaimer: No. Es. Mio. Unfortunately. :) I don't own this, you silly goobers!

So sorry about the wait. Between homework, and studying for finals (next week-- only four days left of school!), and trying fervently to add a chapter to Unlikely Duo and this, and trying not to forget anything for my trip (I'm going to North Carolina with my cousin for a week or two), and trying to figure out how the hell I'm going to pass my gym final (it's death, I tell you, absolute death!), and figuring out my summer jobs (yes, jobs-- I'm babysitting a couple of days a week, and I've got a tutoring job, too), I've been one overworked teenager. Thank you to those of you who are still sticking with me.

OMG! 2022 hits!! Thanks, everybody! You rock!

QUICK NOTE: I fixed the scene on the platform in Chapter 2. It really started to annoy me, because it was so screwed up, so I fixed it. Thanks to Zeroni420 for pointing that out (I think I messaged you about that?).

On to your reviews:

panther73110-- If good old Dumbles knew, he would make her part of some plan, probably figure that if Harry was that powerful, his child would be uber powerful, too.

I'myoursweetestgoodbye-- thanks!

puelloa-- yes, I think you have an overactive imagination. But you gave me a really good idea, so it's okay. :) lol! Thanks for reviewing!

snapefan2007-- aw, thanks!

LGSnow, anonymous reviewer-- Thanks! I don't think he will, only because it will be too confusing to write. Poor Harry will have to survive without one :(

me52080-- Thanks! I love them, too. I just can't seem to find enough of them to make me happy. :) I think he should have, too, but my mind didn't like that, apparently. Whatevs. Maybe I'll write another one that Harry brings the baby (when I actually have time, and am not procrastinating-- lol!).

marauderschika, anonymous reviewer-- thanks! :) I'm sooooo glad I'm done with MCAS, you don't even know. Well, I guess you do, but whatevs. )

emmy1124-- aww, I'm flattered! Thanks for checking out this story! :) I agree, I love the name Leah. A friend of mine (I babysit her two kids) just had a baby, and she named her Leah. It's a great name.

Zeroni420-- I think I messaged you, but I don't really remember (I'm having a bad week, I'm sorry). I fixed that part, made it a bit clearer. Let me know what you think?

Rainbow2007-- thanks!!

Hermione Jean Potter-- me too. :) lol! Thanks for reviewing!

Now, on to the story, hmm?

* * *

Chapter Three: Draco's Story

"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!" Harry whispered into the green flames at precisely 9:58 that evening. He glanced around feverishly to make sure he was alone.

"Harry!" Sirius said in hushed tones. "How are you?"

"I'm fine, can I step through?" Harry asked urgently.

"Sure thing," Sirius agreed. "I'm all alone-- well, you know what I mean." Harry nodded and stepped into the fireplace. Seconds later, he was standing in the sitting room of number twelve, Grimmauld Place, in the company of Sirius and his sleeping daughter.

"Hi, Baby," Harry cooed softly. He gently picked her up from her cradle. The baby stirred but did not wake, just settled into the arms of her father.

"She was fine all day," Sirius assured him. "She's an angel, that one. Gonna break hearts one day."

"Sirius, are you here? I--" Tonks stepped into the room. She stopped and gaped when she saw Harry with the baby.

"Harry? The baby's yours?" Tonks asked, looking a bit surprised.

"No," he said quickly.

"She is yours, isn't she," Tonks said quietly. "She looks just bloody well like you. She's got your hair, and your eyes. In fact, she looks like the product of you and a Malfoy. What'd you do, fuck Draco? Who got pregnant, you or him?"

"Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!" Harry wailed, trying to cover his ears. "That's sooooo gross!"

"Well, that would be the only reasonable explanation, seeing as how he's the only Malfoy your age," she remarked.

"I don't know whose baby this is, okay!" Harry snapped. "She sure as hell isn't mine!" He shuddered at the thought of him and Draco together. Like, _together_ together. _GROSS! _he shouted inside his head.

Harry sat with his baby until twelve thirty, when he decided he needed to get back in order to meet with Malfoy. _The little git,_ Harry fumed to himself. _What could that moron want?_

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"Potter, you're late," Draco said sternly as the dark-haired boy crept up the stairs to the Astronomy Tower.

"Yes, well, I had more-- pressing matters to attend to," Harry said crossly. "What do you want? I've got to get some sleep."

"I wanted to ask about the baby," Draco said casually. Harry's heart almost stopped. _How could he possible know?_

"Whose baby?" Harry asked, trying to appear confused.

"Potter, you're not a good liar," Draco chuckled elegantly. "I happen to know for a fact that on June 1st, you went to a Muggle girl's home and collected a baby from there."

"Well, who's your oh-so-reliable source? Because they need to get their facts straight," Harry said hotly.

"Why, me, of course," Draco said, raising an eyebrow. "I saw you." _Oh, shit._

"So what if you did? What, are you gonna go tell your precious Master?" Harry asked defensively.

"No, actually, I am not going to tell the Dark Lord," Draco said confidently. "In return for my unnatural generosity, you are going to do me a favor."

"What's your favor, Malfoy?" Harry sighed wearily. He really didn't have the time or energy to be playing these games.

"You tell me how you came into a baby," Draco announced. "You tell me that, and you are free and clear."

"What for? What's in it for you?" Harry narrowed his eyes.

"Thinking like a Slytherin, Potter, smart move," Draco nodded approvingly. "However difficult this may be for you to believe, I am asking purely out of curiosity. I saw you leave with a baby, and I want the full story."

"How do I know you won't be tempted to tell your bloody Master?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"I should think the word of a Malfoy would suffice," Draco said, looking a bit insulted. "Malfoys are not known to be liars, Potter."

"No, but they are dirty little bastards," Harry countered.

"Look, Potter, what do you want, a wizard's oath?" Draco asked, frustrated.

"Actually, yes," Harry said, perking up at the idea. "You give me a wizard's oath that you won't tell a soul what I'm about to tell you, and I'll tell you."

"Fine," Draco agreed. "I, Draco Lucius Malfoy, hereby swear with all my magic not to tell a soul, living or dead, what Harry Potter is about to tell me." Gold ribbons of light flowed around the blond, and then the light disappeared.

"Now, tell," Draco ordered.

"Last summer, the summer before fifth year, I met up with a Muggle girl I went to primary school with," Harry explained. "She roped me into going all the way with her. This summer, my aunt cornered me and told me the girl had had a baby, and the girl's parents didn't want it-- the girl committed suicide. The doctors couldn't save her, but they saved the baby. So, I picked her up and took her to Potter Manor."

"Where is she now?" Draco wanted to know.

"With someone I trust very much," Harry answered honestly.

"You're not going to tell me. Ah, well. Maybe one day," Draco sighed.

"Now, tell me why you want to know so badly," Harry challenged. "And why you were in a bloody Muggle neighborhood."

"Your turn for the wizard's oath," Draco responded.

"I, Harold James Potter, hereby swear with all my magic not to tell a soul, living or dead, what Draco Malfoy is about to reveal to me," Harry recited. Gold ribbons of light surrounded him, then faded.

"I was born a twin," Draco said quietly. "I was the second child; the first was a girl. Lucius refused to let a girl be his first born child, so he drained her of her magic and gave her to a Muggle orphanage. He told my mother the girl had died, and I was the only survivor. Lucius has never told me this; I accidentally entered one of his Pensieves when I was eleven."

"What a bastard!" Harry fumed. "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Let me get there, Potter," Draco said patiently. "Well, when I found that out, I went to the Muggle orphanage in Lucius's memory and asked about the girl. They said she had been adopted shortly after she had been brought there. I explained that I was her brother, and I wanted to find her. One explanation and a couple of Confundo Charms later, they gave me the name of the people who adopted her, and I went to visit her. To her parents, I was a long-lost cousin. However, I explained to her what really happened. My sister's name, given to her by the people who adopted her, was Chrissy Anderson. Your baby's mother was my sister."

"Oh, Draco, I'm so sorry," Harry breathed. "It's all my fault she's dead."

"Over Christmas break, during fifth year," Draco continued, his steel grey eyes shiny, "I went to go visit her, and they told me she had disappeared. She just up and left."

"It's all my fault," Harry repeated.

"Listen, Potter, it's not your fault!" Draco barked. "My sister-- she wasn't a slut, or a whore, but she had my mother's charm with men. She got any guy she wanted, and believe me, she wasn't a virgin that summer with you. She told me story after story about guys she was with. But she talked a lot about you, about how she wanted to do you. And I pretended I didn't know you, so that we could keep our opinions of you separate. She thought of you as a god."

"Thanks," Harry whispered. "I think I needed to hear that."

"I went to go check with Mr. and Mrs. Anderson, to hear if they had heard from Chrissy, when I saw you leave their house. I heard Mrs. A scream, so I figured then wouldn't be a good time to visit. So I left," Draco finished. They stood in silence for a moment, both unsure of what to say.

"So? Is it a girl or a boy?" Draco asked eagerly. "I want to know if I have a niece or a nephew."

"It's a girl," Harry said, pulling a photograph out of his robe pocket. "Her name is Leah Potter. She has the classic Malfoy features, but she has my hair and eyes." Harry showed him the picture.

"Well, this explains a lot," Harry said, sounding relieved.

"What does it explain?" the blond wanted to know.

"I went to go visit her, and your cousin, Tonks, walked in on us, and she said the baby looked like a cross between me and a Malfoy. She accused me of fucking you," Harry said, barely suppressing a shudder, "and wanted to know who got pregnant, you or me." Draco shuddered.

"Ewwwww," Draco hissed. "That blood-traitor always was a bit off her rocker. Why she'd ever think I'd shag _you_..."

"Hey!" Harry protested. Draco smirked.

"Leah's a gorgeous baby, worthy of being a Malfoy," Draco said, gazing at the photo again.

"Whoa whoa whoa, wait a minute, she's a Potter," Harry bit back.

"But she has Malfoy blood, so it doesn't matter," the pureblood waved his hand carelessly. "She's still a Malfoy."

"You're an arrogant little bastard, you know that, right?" Harry told him. Draco smirked.

"Yep, and proud of it," Draco announced. "So, when can I see this little beauty?"

"She's staying with a friend of mine who will not welcome your presence a bit," Harry explained regretfully.

"Not many people seem to like the Malfoy name," Draco added sadly.

"How do I know you're not pretending about all this?" Harry asked suddenly.

"Potter," he replied, very coldly, "do you think I would _lie_ about my sister's _death_? I'm not _that_ shallow." Harry nodded grudgingly.

"You don't believe me," Draco said, echoing Harry's thoughts.

"Can you blame me?" Harry asked. Draco sighed wearily.

"No, I can't," he answered honestly. "Listen, I'll bring a copy of the memory to you another time. You've got a Pensieve, right?"

"No, but I can get a hold of one," Harry responded. Draco nodded approvingly and fell silent.

"I need sleep," Harry said after a moment or two, checking his watch. "I went to visit the baby, and I'm dead tired now."

"Fine, I'll cause all hell to break loose when I want to talk to you again," Draco agreed, and the two went their separate ways.

* * *

It's really short, I know, I'm sorry. I felt like I needed to update something, because I'm not sure when I can update next. It might be this weekend (well, not likely), or it might be three weeks from now. So review, and let me know what you think! I was really excited for like the whole day once I came up with this. I was so happy! My friends thought I was on crack. I don't do drugs, I swear, officer! ;) haha, just kidding. I really don't do drugs. :)

All right, I think I've procrastinated enough. I have an English assignment that's due tomorrow (figures, right? Two days before the end of the semester?), and I'm only 2/3 done with it. So I need to hurry my ass up. Okay, bye! Please review! :)


	5. Of Confessions and Pensieves

Disclaimer: I still don't freaking own this!! I wish I did, though.

Hello! I have returned! :) I had an extraordinary week in North Carolina, it was utterly amazing.

I'm sorry it took me so long to write this chapter, but I had a terrible case of writer's block-itis. So I'm sorry for that.

Thank you to my numerous reviewers, I love you all!! :)

3403 HITS!! YAY!! You guys make my day!

Your reviews (sorry they're not individual, I'm trying to speed this up so you get your chapter quicker!!):

I'myoursweetestgoodbye, murgy31, me52080, an anonymous reviewer without a name, Yana5, Rainbow2007, Talonspike, snapefan2007, jcrance-- thank you sooo so so so so so much!

Emm1124-- I know right!! haha lol they'll be nice, I promise. :)

C, anonymous reviewer (**AND FOR ANYONE ELSE WHO'S CONFUSED ABOUT CHRISSY'S PREGNANCY**)-- I got it all worked out. Assume they did it in August. Nine months from then would be June, but Chrissy tried to commit suicide in May, so the baby was born a month premature. I also assumed Hogwarts lets out of school on June 1 (if they start school on September 1, then it makes sense to me that they would end school on June 1), so by the time he got to the Andersons, she would have been about two weeks old, since her birthday is May 18. Sorry about the confusion!

* * *

Chapter Four: Of Confessions and Pensieves

"Potter," the Professor Snape snapped, turning quickly to the teenager. It was a Wednesday, and Harry was preoccupied-- he hadn't seen his little daddy's girl in nearly three days.

"Sir," Harry replied distractedly.

"I can see you are not paying attention to your potion," the Potions master retorted icily. "Do not let your attention wander from your concoction, or there could be dire consequences. Twenty points from Gryffindor." Harry turned to his potion wordlessly and rolled his eyes, careful of the professor's watchful glare.

"What's with you lately?" Ron hissed next to him.

"Nothing!" Harry hissed back, then turned back to his coal-colored cauldron. He glanced up from it a half an hour later to see the female member of the Golden Trio staring at him meaningfully.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked quietly as she left the dungeons with the two boys.

"Yeah," he replied, immersed in his thoughts. The brown-haired girl sighed and shook her head. She didn't buy it, but she was willing to let it slide for now.

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"Hey, Sirius," Harry smiled as he stepped out of the Floo and into the House of Black. He stopped, though, and turned around.

"Why is it so quiet?" he asked, looking around.

"I got rid of my mother's portrait," the dog animagus answered excitedly. "All it took was a heavy-duty Unsticking Charm, and a good Reducto, and she was gone!" Harry grinned at the boyish grin on the man's face.

"And Leah didn't have a problem with all the noise?" Harry questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Slept like a baby," Sirius responded with a shake of his head. Harry had to laugh-- his godfather was unlike anyone else he knew.

The escapee showed his godson to the baby's room, and let them be. Harry walked into the room to find his six month old daughter wide awake.

"Hi, Baby," Harry smiled as he looked over the edge of the crib. She cooed softly and stuck her thumb in her mouth.

"Still got that going, huh, kiddo?" Harry commented as he picked up the child. "Up we go, there's a girl." He sat down in the rocking chair, careful to grab a spit-up rag, and sat her in his lap. She squirmed around until finally her father gave up and planted her on the floor. She crawled-- a new skill to her only acquired a few days before-- over to her toy chest and pulled out the stuffed owl her dad had bought her.

"Oh, you like that owl a lot, huh?" Harry grinned as he joined her on the floor. She sat up and smiled at him toothily-- she had one tooth already in. She squealed as she threw the owl across the room, crawled over to it, and threw it again.

"Leah Potter, star Chaser!" Harry crowed, laughing hysterically. He pulled out his wizard camera, vowing not to become another Colin Creevey, and took pictures of the little girl playing with her stuffed owl.

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"Sirius?" Harry heard a voice ring out (he had been playing with Leah for a little over three hours). He recognized that voice, and his heart sank. _Damn it_, he thought to himself.

"Moony, come have a cup of coffee," Sirius' voice invited.

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"Sirius?" Sirius heard a voice call out. His heart raced, knowing instantly who the voice belonged to.

"Moony, come have a cup of coffee," Sirius offered, steering the werewolf to the kitchen.

"How's everything going?" Remus questioned as he sat at the table. The dog Animagus poured to cups of coffee and sat down with him.

"Everything's fine," Sirius answered. "And you?"

"As well as could be expected under the circumstances, I suppose," his friend sighed, taking a long sip of the coffee. He wrinkled his nose.

"Since when do you like your coffee so strong? And black?" Remus questioned, examining the coffee in the mug before him.

"Since... I don't know," Sirius replied evasively.

"Listen, Padfoot, I know that baby you're baby-sitting doesn't belong to a friend of yours," Remus told him plainly. "If I didn't know better, I'd suspect it belongs to your godson."

"You're working your imagination overtime, Moony," Sirius responded with a roll of his eyes.

"I can smell Harry in this house," Remus informed him. "I'd be willing to bet he's upstairs right now. I want to go upstairs and look-- that is, unless you're hiding something." The man folded his arms.

"No, nothing," Sirius sighed. The werewolf nodded triumphantly and made his way up the stairs.

Sirius hated lying to his best friend, but he knew Harry's situation had to remain a secret. It was killing him, not telling anyone-- not even Snivellus!-- but he knew it had to be done. One day, the world would be safe enough for Harry to bring his daughter out into the public.

Contrary to what the Order members believe, he was quite happy to stay at Grimmauld Place and take care of the little girl-- she reminded him so much of Harry when he was her age. Sure, he wished he could be out in and walk the streets like anyone else-- he would never admit it, but he envied even Snape for the small luxury-- but he enjoyed seeing the girl smile and giggle when he made faces and tickled her.

"Padfoot, why isn't the baby up there?" Remus asked, .

"I told you, my friend takes her home at night sometimes," Sirius replied. His mind raced-- what would happen if Harry was caught with her on school grounds? What if he got caught by his cousin Narcissa's son, Draco? Lucius and Draco wouldn't hesitate to inform their precious Dark Lord of the goings-on of the Boy-Who-Lived.

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"I want to go upstairs and look-- that is, unless you're hiding something." That was Remus's voice. Harry thought rapidly, trying to figure out what to do with himself, when he noticed an old Floo network connected in the living room fireplace. He smiled, taking pride in the fact that he always had some Floo powder in his robe pocket, and picked up his little girl, careful to grab the owl as well.

"Room of Requirement, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!" Harry whispered, stepping into the green flames. He held the baby close to him, watching grate after grate pass by, until he found the Room of Requirement.

"Hedwig!" he called out after settling the baby on the floor. The snowy white owl flew to the owl perch the room had provided. Harry scribbled a note on a piece of parchment.

"Take this to Draco Malfoy," he instructed. The owl hooted and flew out of sight. The message had read:

_Malfoy,_

_Come to the Room of Requirement as soon as you get this._

_HP_

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A snowy white owl soared into the Slytherin Common Room, floating next to the Malfoy heir, who was perched on a dark green couch aristocratically. He took the note it carried, hoping none of the other Slytherins would notice that was Harry's bird, and it flew away. He read the note, crumpled it up, and Incendio-ed it. He gathered his robes around him and stalked out of the Common Room, leaving Crabbe and Goyle dazed and confused.

"Potter?" he called as he entered the Room of Requirement. The sound of a baby's coo answered. Puzzled, the Slytherin entered the room to find a dark-haired, green-eyed girl sitting on the floor. Her father stood several feet away, obviously deep in thought.

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Harry had been in the Room of Requirement for nearly twenty minutes. He had been trying to decide when would be safe for him to announce his daughter publicly-- his best option seemed to be after Voldemort's demise.

"Potter!" Draco called. The Gryffindor looked up sheepishly.

"Got lost in thought," he admitted, sitting down with his little girl, who was cooing happily at her owl. She put down the owl and stared into her uncle's eyes. He stared back. After a moment, she began to coo again, and held up the owl. She threw it at him, then giggled as it hit his leg. Draco laughed.

"Draco, you can sit down," Harry offered, trying to hold back a laugh. Draco sat down on the floor.

"Leah Lily Potter," Draco said softly, gazing at the girl. "My sister would have eaten you all up, you're that adorable." Leah cooed and climbed into Draco's lap. He sat her up properly and stroked her dark hair.

"Awww!" Harry smirked. "That's so cute!"

"You tell anyone, and I'll deny it," Draco attempted to threaten.

"You're not as menacing with a baby in your lap," Harry retorted, snapping a picture. Draco rolled his eyes.

"We've got a problem," Draco told the Gryffindor. Leah climbed out of her uncle's lap and began to play with her stuffed owl again. "Voldemort is plotting."

"Voldemort is always plotting," Harry replied. "What's different now?"

"He's trying to come up with a way to make the Order of the Phoenix self-destruct from the inside out," Draco informed him. "And he's got the perfect tool-- a spy."

"Who?" Harry asked. He didn't think the blond was so naïve as to think it was Snape; Snape had told him himself he was a spy for the Order of the Phoenix.

"I don't know," Draco admitted quietly.

"You know all of this, but you don't know his name?!" Harry exclaimed, startling Leah. She looked up at her father with wide eyes, then turned back to her stuffed owl, oblivious to the serious conversation going on around her.

"My father didn't see fit to trust me with that small detail," the Slytherin explained bitterly. "Where is she staying?"

"With someone," Harry replied evasively. "That someone is a member of the Order. I'm not worried about him being the spy-- it's the fact that he's staying at Orders headquarters with her that bothers me."

"I'm guessing there's a Fidelius Charm on headquarters?" Draco asked.

"Yes, there is, and no, I wouldn't tell you even if I could," Harry responded firmly. "And it's not because I don't trust you, it's because I don't trust Lucius, and, if I'm not mistaken, Voldemort. Because you'll be getting your Dark Mark soon, won't you?" The blond nodded miserably.

"I need to get out of it, and soon," Draco affirmed. "Listen, I'm not on the Light side by any means-- I've seen and used too many Dark curses for that. But I don't really believe in killing people just because of their blood, you know what I mean? I keep up this whole charade because I know there are other Death Eaters' children who won't hesitate to inform my father and the Dark Lord of my views, should I speak my mind."

Harry nodded as Leah pulled herself up to her father's shoulder and fell asleep, her thumb firmly tucked in her mouth.

"There's one member of the Order of the Phoenix who is a spy, besides the one spying for Voldemort," Draco continued quietly. "He's a spy for the Order, but makes the Dark Lord believe he is a spy for him."

"Yes, there is," Harry agreed. "He has saved my butt once or twice."

"He is the only other person, besides you, who knows of my true loyalties-- he is my godfather," Draco explained, as if he hadn't heard the dark-haired teenager say anything. "I believe my mother has her guesses, but I have never told her myself. My mother holds the same beliefs as I do, but she was the smart one out of her family-- instead of proclaiming her loyalties, as my aunt Andromeda and my cousin Sirius did, she kept them to herself, and did not get herself burnt off the family tapestry. She has kept close contact with Aunt Andy and Sirius."

"Has she," Harry muttered. He'd have to speak with his godfather about this afterwards. "What does she speak with Andromeda and Sirius about?"

"They both know my twin sister died at birth," Draco said thoughtfully, "and I believe they know of her loyalties, and how she acts in public is just that, an act." Harry nodded.

"I brought my father's memories," Draco added, pulling a small vial out of his robe pocket. A Pensieve appeared in the room, and Draco dumped his father's memories into it.

"My father's magical signature," Draco informed the Gryffindor, indicating the magic flowing around the stone basin. Harry nodded and touched a finger to the silver liquid, careful of the sleeping baby on his shoulder. The Slytherin lifted a finger to the liquid as well, and both teenagers were sucked into the memories.

They landed in St. Mungo's.

"This is the Delivery Room at St. Mungo's," the Malfoy heir informed him. Harry nodded, keeping a hand on the baby's back.

A mediwitch stepped out of a room with a tiny baby girl, a small tuft of platinum blond hair rumpled on top of her head. Lucius Malfoy followed her out of the room and took the baby.

"What--!" the mediwitch squawked.

"_Silencio_," Lucius hissed. The witch's mouth opened and closed, but no sound came out. Lucius smirked.

"_Imperio_," he muttered. "You will go back in that room and tell Narcissa that she had a daughter; she did not survive. You will forget this conversation ever took place. Do you understand?" The mediwitch nodded numbly.

"_Obliviate_," Lucius snarled. The witch turned and walked back into the room.

"Now, my dear," Lucius sneered, turning his attention to the whimpering baby, "I cannot have a female be the first-born; it is not proper in pureblood families. I am going to destroy your magic and send you to a Muggle orphanage, where I will never see you again, and your mother and brother and I will be quite content without you in our lives."

Harry glanced at the Slytherin, whose gray eyes were shiny with unshed tears.

Lucius began to speak in a long string of Latin, growing louder and faster with every time he repeated it. A band of white light surrounded the girl, growing brighter and thicker until it all disappeared.

"Excellent," Lucius nodded in satisfaction. "Now, let's send you off to the Muggle orphanage and get you over and done with." And with that, Lucius turned and strode out of the hospital.

"Hello," the Muggle woman at the orphanage said pleasantly. Lucius put on an air of desperation.

"It's my daughter," he said desperately. "Her mother died, and I can't take care of her!"

"It will be all right, sir," the woman responded, looking concerned. Harry noticed Draco regarding his father with utmost disgust and loathing.

"Please, take her," Lucius begged. The woman nodded, and, immediately after the baby had been taken away, Lucius swept out the door, and strode back to St. Mungo's.

"Honey, where did you go?" Narcissa asked, cradling her baby boy.

"I had to go to the bathroom," Lucius lied, gazing at his son in adoration. He looked around, seemingly puzzled. "Where's the other one, the girl?" Narcissa burst into tears.

"Lucius, she died," Narcissa cried. "The nurse came and told me just after you left." Lucius twitched.

"I don't believe it," Lucius replied hoarsely, sounding on the verge of tears. Draco rolled his eyes, and the memory ended.

"Draco, I'm so sorry," Harry breathed. "That's an awful thing to do to a child."

"And he didn't even have the guts to tell me himself," Draco said malevolently. "I had to go sneaking around his office-- which is a scary place, let me tell you." Harry fell silent, not knowing what to say.

"Look at the time," Harry said a few moments later, casting a Tempus Charm. "It's time to get this one to bed." He stood up, and grabbed the owl. Leah didn't wake.

"Good night, Potter," Draco said in closing. He placed a finger on his niece's cheek. "Good night, little Potter." And with that, Draco Malfoy left.

Harry walked over to the Floo and whispered into the green flames, "Number twelve Grimmauld Place, the attic." He inspected the room, making sure the werewolf had left.

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At nearly two o'clock in the morning, the flames in the attic fireplace turned green. Sirius jumped up from his seat and stood in front of the flames, tapping his foot.

"Harry! Where have you been?" Sirius hissed.

"I've been in the Room of Requirement," Harry explained. "I wanted to make sure Remus had left before bringing her back."

"Remus left an hour ago," Sirius responded, folding his arms.

"I got into conversation," Harry admitted. Sirius seated himself on the couch.

"Oh, no, Harry, who found out?" Sirius sighed, letting his face fall into his hands. "Tell me it was Ron or Hermione, please?"

"It wasn't Ron or Hermione," Harry confessed.

"Then who?" Sirius asked, not wanting to know the answer.

"A relative of yours," Harry replied. "Draco Malfoy."

"No, Harry, not Draco," Sirius breathed. "Harry, Draco's a junior Death Eater!"

"Not willingly!" Harry retorted. "Whether you realize it or not, Draco has the same beliefs as Narcissa."

"Narcissa is a good woman," Sirius admitted. "She's just trying to make a life for herself."

"Exactly!" Harry agreed.

"What kind of life is a Death Eater, huh?" Sirius bit back.

"You think he wants that kind of life?" Harry asked. "His father is Voldemort's right hand man, he has _no choice_ but to become a Death Eater!" Sirius fell silent.

"How do we know he's not going to run straight to Voldemort, or Lucius, with the information of your daughter-- I presume he knows she's your daughter?" Sirius backtracked.

"He will never forgive Lucius over this one, I have no doubts he will keep this to himself," Harry told his godfather. "Draco was born a twin."

"Yes, I know that," Sirius cut in. "She died that day."

"Ah, but she didn't," Harry informed him. "I saw Lucius's memory of it tonight. See, the girl was born first, and apparently it's a pureblood no-no to have a girl be the firstborn. When the mediwitch left the delivery room with the baby, Lucius followed her and took the baby. He Obliviated the nurse, and Imperiused her to tell Narcissa the baby died. He took away the girl's magic and left her at a Muggle orphanage. The girl was adopted, and, lo and behold, was named Chrissy Anderson by her adoptive parents!" Sirius looked up at his godson, wide-eyed.

"Draco found all of this out when he was eleven," Harry continued. "He found out from the orphanage where she was, and he went to the Andersons' home. He told Chrissy the whole story, but he told her parents he was a long-lost cousin."

"Why do you trust him?" Sirius asked finally.

"He swore on his magic, Sirius," Harry answered quietly. "He swore everything he told me was the truth, and he swore he wouldn't reveal anything that was said between us to anyone." After several moments of silence, Sirius finally nodded.

"Okay," he sighed. "If you feel you can trust Draco, then okay." Harry smiled as he set the baby in the cradle. She settled into the crib, but didn't wake.

"He also told me something," Harry said, "something really important. There's a spy in the Order."

"Yes, Snape, we know," Sirius said impatiently.

"No, not Snape," Harry replied. "There's somebody else that is Voldemort's spy. And Voldemort intends to use him to destroy the Order from the inside out."

"Well, who is it?" Sirius asked eagerly.

"Draco didn't know, Lucius didn't tell him," Harry responded. "Draco's trying to find out as much as he can, because-- well, he says it's stupid, but I think it's cute-- he wants to take her out in public, you know, show her off to the world, and he knows he can't until Voldemort is gone."

"I just hope you know what you're doing," Sirius said, "because this is not only your life you're risking, but hers as well."

"I will," Harry promised, glancing at his sleeping daughter. "She means more to me than anything."

* * *

I'm sorry there's so much overlap in this chapter, but I needed to do this from a couple of different point of views. If anyone is confused, email me and I can clear up the confusion.

There will be no slash, I promise. I'm not good at writing slash. I know this is kind of fluff-y, but there was some important information I had to get in. REVIEW, PLEASE! I like reviews, they make me smile and feel warm and fuzzy inside. ;)

All right. it is just about 11:00, and I have several DVR events to watch, including Comedy Central Presents and the Secret Life of the American Teenager. That's my new favorite show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, omg I love it!! :) It comes on Tuesday nights at... 8:00, I think? It might be 9:00. It comes on ABC Family from the producers of 7th Heaven. Think 7th Heaven meets Juno. It's a great show! Okay, so bye! See you next chapter! Review please!


	6. Christmas At Grimmauld Place

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Sorry for the delay in chapter, I had a serious case of writer's block (what a lame excuse, huh? But sadly, it's always true), and then there was a death in the family last weekend, and I was having a difficult time finding motivation to write. (I'm not looking for pity, I just want you to know why this has taken so long.) I decided to write a fluffy chapter. I'm sorry if you don't like fluff, I can't please everyone all the time, I guess.

Starting after these reviews below, I'm going to review reply directly to you so that I don't have to type all my review replies at the beginning of the chapters. Anonymous reviewers, if you'd like a response from me, please leave an email address. Thank you guys for all the reviews and alerts and hits! :)

Reviews:

emmy1124-- dun dun dunnnnn! I can't ruin the surprise! :)

Murgy31, me52080, I'myoursweetestgoodbye, Potiphar (anonymous reviewer), Rainbow2007, Marikili68, ThEgOlDeNcOmPaSs-- aw, thanks! And thank you for reviewing!

Yana5-- it's going to be a happy ending, don't you worry. :) thanks for reviewing!

* * *

Chapter 5: Christmas At Grimmauld Place

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One month later: December 20

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"So, Harry, are you sure you can't come by for Christmas?" Ron asked.

"I can't," Harry said apologetically. "Padfoot wants me to stay with him." And I want to spend a lot of time with the baby, he added silently.

"All right, mate," Ron sighed. "But Mum's not gonna be too happy about it."

"Yeah, I know," Harry agreed.

"Let's go! The train is leaving soon!" Hermione called as she left the girls' dormitory. Ron rolled his eyes, and Harry laughed as he followed the two down to the Great Hall.

"Harry!" a familiar voice called out as Harry stepped off the Hogwarts Express at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. He turned around and found Tonks waving at him madly. Kingsley Shacklebolt stood beside her, rolling his eyes at her childish antics.

"Hey," Harry greeted.

"Wotcher, Harry," Tonks smiled.

"Harry," Kingsley nodded. "Well, let's get going!" Harry dragged his things, waving to Ron and Hermione as he left. He exchanged nods with the Malfoy heir, and then they were at the Ministry car Kingsley had evidently borrowed.

"No, you don't," Kingsley said quickly as Tonks started for the driver's side. She stopped and put a hand on her hip.

"What's wrong with my driving?" she demanded. Harry muffled a laugh.

"I've seen you drive, it does no justice to your clumsiness," Kingsley said. Tonks sniffed and flounced to the passenger's side door.

"Good term, Harry?" Tonks asked.

"Yeah, it was fine," Harry replied.

"Is Snape still a git?" she asked. "That's one thing I don't miss. I was terrible at Potions-- I always knocked things over." Harry and Kingsley laughed, both unsurprised.

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"Here we are!" Tonks announced as they arrived in front of Grimmauld Place. Harry sighed inwardly with relief-- he wasn't sure how many more are-we-there-yets of Tonks's he could have handled.

"Happy Christmas, Harry," Kingsley smiled. Harry smiled back and made his way into number twelve, Grimmauld Place, lugging all of his things.

"Sirius? I'm home!" he called out. He heard a _thump_ in the kitchen, followed by a lengthy string of curses. Harry grinned and entered the kitchen.

"Having fun?" he asked, trying to suppress a laugh. The kitchen was covered in whatever it was that Sirius had decided to feed the little seven-month old.

"Look who it is! It's your daddy's turn!" Sirius exclaimed, eagerly passing off the bowl of mush. Harry looked down into the bowl, then back up at his godfather.

"What is it?" he asked bluntly.

"Mashed squash," Sirius confessed. "I had a hell of a time mashing it, too." Leah giggled and clapped her hands. Every part of her was covered in the sticky goo. Harry shook his head and smiled.

"Go wash yourself off, and I'll finish up with her," Harry said. The escapee nodded and fled the room faster than Snape confronted with a bottle of shampoo.

"Hey, Sirius!" Harry called after him.

"What?" Sirius shouted.

"Can I use magic in here?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, my mother had this place made Un-Traceable by the Ministry!" Sirius answered. Harry nodded to himself.

"_Scourgify_!" Harry incanted, pointing his wand at his child. The goo disappeared, and he was left with a giggling baby.

"_Scourgify_!" Harry shouted, pointing his wand around the kitchen, and the rest of the mush vanished. He picked up the spoon and put an Anti-Drop Charm on it. He dipped it into the mashed squash and aimed it at the baby's mouth. She complied and opened her mouth. Slowly, they made their way through the whole bowl.

"How'd you get her to take it?" Sirius asked as he returned from his shower.

"You are an evil little girl," Sirius said accusingly, not waiting for a reply from his godson. Leah's eyes widened, and she smiled innocently.

"No!" she argued.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Sirius muttered. Harry chuckled as he dried the bowl.

"What are we doing for Christmas?" he asked, placing the bowl back in the cupboard.

"It's just the three of us," Sirius informed him, picking up the small child from the high chair. "Remus is off with his furry little problem; the Weasleys are having dinner at the Burrow; and the rest of the Order has decided to give us headquarters to ourselves." Harry nodded.

"What are we having?" Harry questioned.

"What are you making?" Sirius replied. Harry smiled.

"It'll be an on-the-spot decision," Harry decided. He took his daughter from his godfather. "She'll help me decide, won't you, baby?" Leah gurgled.

"That's what I thought," Harry nodded. Sirius smirked.

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Christmas Day

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"Sirius! The ham is almost done!" Harry called as he pointed his wand at the ham. He had flour all over him; Leah was content to sit in a pile of flour, throwing it around the kitchen. He muttered the incantation he had found in a cookbook, and the ham was instantly baked.

He placed a warming charm on the ham, mashed potatoes, rolls, and corn, and then gingerly picked up the child from the pile of flour. Every inch of her was covered in the white powder, and she giggled happily.

"You need a bath, kiddo," Harry told her as he carried her to the bathroom.

"No!" Leah protested.

"Yes," Harry replied firmly.

"What do you need me to do?" Sirius asked as he poked his head into the bathroom.

"Stay away from the kitchen," Harry directed firmly. "You can set the table, if you want." Sirius nodded and left.

"HOLY SHIT!" Sirius roared.

"I told you not to go in there!" Harry called back. "I'll clean it up later!"

"You better!" Sirius shouted. "Or Molly is going to have a hernia!" Harry chuckled and turned to the seven-month old.

"All right, missy," Harry said, gingerly picking pieces of clothing off the child. He sat her in the baby bathtub and washed her off. Suddenly, Harry had a spur of the moment idea.

"Hey, Sirius, can we have Draco and Narcissa over?" Harry called down the hallway.

"Narcissa, yes, Draco, I don't trust," Sirius answered from the dining room.

"But you've never even met him!" Harry protested as he towel-dried the infant.

"And I'd like to keep it that way," Sirius responded.

"Come on," Harry begged. "Please?"

"No, Harry," Sirius replied firmly. "I really don't trust him."

"Sirius, he gave me a wizard's oath! _On his magic_!" Harry emphasized.

"That's generally what a wizard's oath is, on his magic," Sirius replied.

"He swore on his magic, Sirius, you _know_ how purebloods are with their magic! I'm not making this up!" Harry debated.

"What will it take to shut you up?" Sirius asked wearily. "Fine. I'll invite Draco and Narcissa." Harry pumped his fist as he dressed the little girl in a red Christmas dress with white lace lining the neckline and a white ribbon running around her waist.

"You look so adorable, cutie pie!" Harry gushed. Then he ordered, "don't you dare spit up!" Leah smiled. Harry picked her up and carried her to the sitting room, where Sirius's body was sticking out of the Floo. He emerged several minutes later to see Leah in her red Christmas dress.

"She looks gorgeous!" Sirius crowed. He picked up his godson's child and swung her around. She laughed as he set her back down on the floor. He sized up his godson.

"Go change," Sirius ordered. Harry rolled his eyes and ran upstairs and changed.

"What time are Narcissa and Draco coming over?" Harry asked as he reentered the sitting room.

"Any time now," Sirius replied, not looking up from his block tower. Harry couldn't help but snicker.

"Is it really that difficult to build a block tower?" Harry asked innocently.

"Buzz off, brat," Sirius shot back. Harry smirked and sat his daughter in his lap. Suddenly, the Floo roared to life.

"Sirius? May we step through?" Narcissa's musical voice asked.

"Go ahead, Cissy," Sirius answered, his attention now focused on the fireplace. Draco stepped through first, then Narcissa.

"Happy Christmas, Cissy, Draco," Sirius greeted warmly. Narcissa smiled, and Draco spotted Leah on the floor.

"Leah!" Draco smiled, sitting next to Harry on the floor. She squirmed in her father's lap, and, laughing, he gave her to her uncle. Draco grinned and let the baby stand on his thighs and look him in the face. She patted his cheek.

"Admit it, you love Uncle Draco!" Draco told her, and she laughed. Harry saw Narcissa out of the corner of his eye staring at her son in bewilderment. Harry wished Draco hadn't called himself Uncle Draco.

"Guh," Leah informed him. Draco laughed. Unexpectedly, she threw herself at him, and he fell over backwards.

"What was that for?" Draco grunted. Leah sat on top of him happily, smiling toothily-- she'd cut a few teeth over the past two months.

"That's it!" Draco shouted. He pinned her to the ground and began to tickle her ruthlessly.

"NOOOOOOOOO!" she squealed. Draco glanced up at Harry.

"Is that new?" he asked.

"Nah, she's been saying that for a month or so now," Harry told him. Draco nodded.

"Hello, Mrs. Malfoy," Harry said politely as he stood.

"Narcissa, Harry, my name is Narcissa," Narcissa replied, coming out of her stupor. "I've heard nothing but good things about you from Sirius." Harry smiled.

"Go see your daddy," Draco coaxed. He stood the girl up and held her fingers, and she walked hesitantly towards Harry. He looked at Harry.

"She talks early, she crawls early, she teethes early, she does everything early but walk?" Draco demanded.

"You can't push those things," Harry said as he picked up the little girl.

"I wasn't aware Sirius had a daughter," Narcissa said quietly.

"He doesn't," Harry replied simply. He turned to the baby's uncle uneasily. "Draco?" Draco nodded, understanding the unspoken question immediately.

"Mum, you might want to sit down," Draco said uncomfortably. Narcissa sat on one of the couches.

"Sirius?" Harry asked, turning to his godfather.

"Are you sure you want to tell her?" he asked his godson cautiously.

"She has a right to know," Harry responded.

"Tell me what?" Narcissa pressed. Draco sighed heavily.

"Tell you that my sister didn't die," Draco said quietly. "At least, not when she was born." Narcissa's eyes went wide.

"How do you know about her?" she gasped.

"I saw it in one of my _lovely_ father's Pensieves," Draco replied. "I'll show you the memory when we get home, but for now, can you take my word for it?" Narcissa nodded faintly.

"_Lucius_," Draco hissed the name contemptuously, "took away all of my sister's magic and stuck her in a Muggle orphanage; a Muggle couple adopted her a few short weeks after that."

"How do you know this? And what have you got to do with this?" Narcissa asked, turning to Harry.

"Please, Mum, just hear us out first, then ask questions," Draco said gently. Narcissa nodded, turning her attention back to her son.

"My sister was adopted by a family that lived near Harry's Muggle family, in Surrey," Draco continued. "They named her Chrissy."

"Chrissy," Narcissa repeated.

"It seems," Draco continued, "that she inherited your charm with men. She charmed many boys in her day, and managed to lure a few into her bedroom."

"Including me," Harry finished sadly. Narcissa turned speculative eyes on him.

"The summer before fifth year," Harry began, "I was at a playground near both of our houses, thinking some things through, and Chrissy managed to convince me to come back to her house with her." Narcissa remained silent, trying to take everything in.

"The summer after fifth year," Harry continued, "I returned to my Muggle aunt and uncle's house; my aunt told me to go over to the Andersons' house-- that's the family that adopted Chrissy, the Andersons. My aunt said Chrissy had a baby, and she claimed it was mine. My aunt told me Chrissy had attempted to commit suicide. The doctors had been able to save the baby, but not Chrissy."

"Cissy, Leah is Harry and Chrissy's daughter," Sirius said tenderly. Narcissa closed her eyes.

"All these years," she began, her voice strained, "I thought my little girl was dead. Do you know what that's like, to think your child is dead?" Nobody answered her, and she continued. "Then to find out my bastard of a husband shipped her off to some Muggles, when she could have been here..." Her voice trailed off. "And to find out that this is my granddaughter," she finished, gazing at the infant, who was cooing, oblivious to the goings-on around her. Harry smiled and placed her in Narcissa's lap. Leah reaching up to touch her grandmother's face, and Narcissa smiled.

"Hi, Baby," Narcissa whispered. "I'm your grandmother. You can call me Nana, okay?"

"Nananananana," Leah echoed. Draco smirked.

"Draco, how do you know so much about your sister?" Narcissa asked, glancing up at her son. Draco shifted nervously.

"When I found out I had a sister," Draco began hesitantly, "I went to the orphanage to find her. They told me who adopted her, and I went to find her. I told her parents I was a long-lost cousin, but I told Chrissy what really happened. She knew all about magic, and the Malfoy name, and all that stuff. Remember all those times I disappeared?"

"Yes, and you had me worried sick," Narcissa replied, turning a warning tone on her son.

"I was in Surrey, hanging out with my sister," Draco replied. "And I can't honestly say that I'm sorry I went. It was great to know my sister." Narcissa smiled weakly.

"I'm glad you got to know her," Narcissa said wistfully. "If only Lucius had let me have the opportunity myself..."

"She was an extremely talented gymnast, Mum," Draco told her. "Merlin, she was fantastic. I'll have to show you my memories of her competitions sometimes. Always won, she did. She was amazing."

"Did you ever see her compete?" Narcissa asked, turning to Harry.

"I competed with her," Harry replied. "We were both on our school team."

"I never saw you there," Draco frowned.

"I gave it up after I got my acceptance letter," Harry explained. "I haven't trained since I was ten." Draco nodded.

"Petunia and Vernon let you do a sport, Harry?" Sirius asked in surprise. "And am I the only one here who doesn't know what gymnastics is?"

"Anything to get me away from them," Harry explained.

"I don't know what gymnastics is, either," Narcissa volunteered.

"It's like..." Harry trailed off, searching for the right words. "It's like flexibility and strength to the extreme. Flips, tricks, stuff like that." A silence fell upon them, and Leah played noisily with her blocks.

"Dinner's ready!" Sirius announced. "Get it while it's hot!" Narcissa smiled and followed her cousin into the dining room.

"Let's go, lady," Draco said, picking up his niece. Harry smirked and followed them.

"If I didn't know better, I would say she's made you go soft," Harry commented. Draco sneered and walked into the dining room.

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"Thanks for letting Draco and Narcissa come over today," Harry thanked his godfather.

"Don't sweat it," Sirius replied, waving the thanks away. "I'm glad we did." Harry smiled.

"Happy Christmas to you," Harry said, handing his godfather a big present. Sirius tore into the packaging; Harry snorted with laughter.

"Gah!" Leah protested happily. Harry shushed her, knowing he had many Christmas gifts for her upstairs in her room. Sirius opened his box and gasped.

"Harry, where...?" Sirius asked speechlessly. Harry grinned.

"Do you like it?" Harry questioned.

"Merlin, I haven't seen these since..." Sirius breathed, trailing off. He picked up a large photo album that Harry had put together. Inside were numerous photographs he had found in the Potter vault-- some from their times at Hogwarts; some from Lily and James's wedding; and some from when Harry was a baby. "Where did you find all of these?"

"They were in the Potter vault," Harry replied, gazing at the photo on the front cover: a picture of Lily, James, Sirius, Remus, and Baby Harry. Sirius carefully cracked the album open.

"Thank you, Harry," he whispered, his eyes becoming shiny with unshed tears. He turned around to the Christmas tree-- not before replacing his precious photo album back in its box-- and gave his godson and his godson's daughter their presents. Harry opened the small box, which contained a single brass key.

"Sirius?" Harry asked hesitantly, looking up from the key.

"The key doesn't work anything," Sirius explained. "I just needed something to wrap to represent it."

"Represent what?" Harry asked.

"There is a Black family Manor in Scotland," Sirius clarified. "It is a small home; my relatives avoided spending time there whenever possible because it was so small. It only has three bedrooms, and two bathrooms; and, of course, it has a kitchen, and dining room, and sitting room. I want you to promise me that once this war is over, and everything is safe once more, that you'll move in there with Leah." Harry's eyes widened.

"Sirius, you don't have to--" Harry began to protest, but his godfather cut him off.

"But I want to," Sirius said firmly. "It's my Christmas present to you."

"Thank you," Harry whispered, fingering the brass key. Before Sirius knew it, his godson had his arms wrapped his around his waist.

"Thank you," Harry whispered again.

* * *

So. There's this thing called reviewing, and I'd like you to try it out for me. Please? Pretty please?

I'm leaving on a family vacation this Sunday coming, so this may be the last chapter for three weeks or so. If I'm going to write another chapter, it will be before this Saturday (we're leaving early Sunday morning).

On a serious note, my aunt died of a combination of lupus and a urinary tract infection. Lupus is a disease in which the person has an overactive immune system-- that is, their immune system not only attacks "bad" cells, but it attacks the "good" ones as well. No one knows for sure what causes it, and there's no cure. Lupus is not generally a fatal illness-- my aunt had it for 20 years, and studies show it is only fatal in about ten percent of patients with lupus-- but in conjunction with other illnesses, it can become fatal. Urinary tract infections are one of the top killers in lupus patients.

So do me a favor, anyone who knows someone with lupus? If that person gets a urinary tract infection, or any kind of infection, make sure they go to a doctor or the hospital to get treatment ASAP, and make sure whoever they see knows they have lupus, so they can treat it accordingly. My aunt was in the hospital the night before she died, because of the urinary tract infection, and they sent her home at three o'clock in the morning; she got up the next morning and collapsed and died in her kitchen. The ambulance came and the paramedics used the heart jolter paddles, but by then it was too late.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not out looking for a pity party. I just don't want this to happen to someone else when it could have been so easily avoided. Just take extra precautions, and things like this can be avoided.

Love, Casey


	7. Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl

Disclaimer: In my state of delusion, this belongs to me. But in the harsh world called Reality, I only own Leah and Chrissy and the plot. Everything else belongs to JKR and the movie people.

Sorry for the delay-- almost a month, please don't hurt me! But I think this chapter is worth the wait.

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Chapter 6 Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl

Winter passed quickly, and before anyone knew it, it was May 11th-- exactly a week before Leah's birthday. Mrs. Weasley, of course, had been spending most of her time at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, and would be on hand for Leah's first birthday; she'd become quite fond of the infant. It was a Saturday, conveniently, and so Harry was planning to spend the day there with his baby.

The weekend of May 11th happened to be a Hogsmeade weekend, and Harry was planning to take full advantage of this in order to get some last minute shopping done for his little girl's birthday. He and Draco had it all worked out-- they would meet in an alley in Hogsmeade, and would apply Glamour Charms before going to the baby store. They'd get their shopping done, _finite_ the Glamour Charm, and join their friends, with no one the wiser.

"Harry, are you coming to Hogsmeade?" Ron asked.

"Yep, I am," Harry nodded. "I've got some shopping to do."

"For what?" Hermione wanted to know.

"Just stuff," Harry said vaguely. Ron shrugged, and Hermione sighed.

"You know that we're here whenever you decide to tell us what's going on, right, Harry?" Hermione asked softly. Harry smiled and nodded.

"Of course I do. It's not that I don't trust you guys-- you _are_ my best friends, after all-- it's that I don't trust people around us, you know?" Harry assured her. She nodded agreeably.

"Now, let's get going," Hermione said as she stood, checking the time. "We're going to be late if we stay here any longer." Ron rolled his eyes, but stood as well, and the threesome left Gryffindor Tower.

"And Potter, Weasley, and Granger, check," McGonagall said, peering at them from over the rims of her glasses as a group of chatting students crowded the Entrance Hall. Hermione smiled and nodded, and they left the castle with the rest of the students going to Hogsmeade.

"I'll meet you guys at Rosmerta's in two hours, all right?" Harry asked his friends, who nodded. He smiled and ducked into an alley they had just passed.

"It's about time you got here, Potter," Draco sneered at him.

"There's no one here but us, Draco," Harry said in a low voice. He held his wand up, pointed at himself, and repeated the incantation for the Glamour Charm; Draco did as well. They inspected one another for flaws, nodded once, then headed for the baby store.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen," a frazzled, blond-haired woman called from somewhere in the store.

"Hello," Harry called back. Draco ignored her and began looking at the toys; this was the only store he had agreed to shop in, because everything was expensive. _Typical rich pureblood_, Harry thought to himself.

"What do you think?" Draco asked, holding up a toy.

"What is it?" Harry asked bluntly.

"It makes noise, and lights up, and things move. Any one year old would like that," Draco nodded, seemingly speaking to himself. Harry smirked and let his eyes wander.

"Toy broom! Perfect," Harry crowed, picking up the toddler-sized broom.

"How's she going to ride it? She can't walk yet," the blond-- well, normally blond-- pointed out.

"We'll figure something out!" Harry declared. "She'll ride it, don't you worry." He also grabbed a toy Snitch.

"A Seeker? Get real," Draco scoffed. "She'll be a Chaser." Harry smirked, but had to agree. He got the Snitch anyway.

"Let's get out of here," Harry said nearly two hours later. Their arms were overflowing with toys; one would think the two were shopping for an entire village of children. Draco nodded, and they paid for Leah's birthday presents.

"Here," Draco said. He flicked his wand at Harry's stack of gifts, and they instantly became the size of a matchbox car. He did the same with his stack.

"We have one slight problem with Leah's birthday party-- or two, rather," Harry added as an afterthought.

"What is it?" Draco asked instantly.

"Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, Tonks, and Andromeda will be there," Harry said, his voice nearly a whisper, "and Leah's begun to call me 'Dada'."

"Aww!" Draco snickered.

"This is serious!" Harry hissed. "I think I'm going to tell them." Draco stopped walking-- they were nearly to the alley by then-- and looked Harry in the eye.

"For one thing, Andi already knows-- my mother told her almost as soon as she found out. Can you trust the others?" Draco replied.

"If I couldn't, would I have invited them in the first place?" Harry countered. Draco nodded and continued walking.

"So am I still invited to the party?" Draco questioned.

"Of course you are!" Harry exclaimed, horrified that his daughter's uncle would ever think otherwise. "I'll just have to talk to them first." They took down the Glamour Charms-- they were in the alley already-- and walked out of the alley, one at a time.

"Where have you been!" Hermione exclaimed as Harry entered Rosmerta's. "We've been waiting for you for ages!"

"Don't listen to her, mate," Ron told him, "we've only just gotten here. We haven't even gotten our butterbeers yet."

"Sorry," Harry apologized. "My little errand lasted longer than I thought it would." _Damn Draco_.

"Here are your butterbeers," Rosmerta said briskly as she set three down on the table they occupied. "I saw you come in, Mr. Potter," she added, correctly interpreting Harry's confusion. He smiled.

"Thank you, Rosmerta," he thanked her. She smiled to him and left as the three gulped the bubbling drink down.

"We'd better be heading back to the school soon," Hermione announced, checking the time as they finished their butterbeers.

"I'm ready," Ron announced, sucking the last drop from his butterbeer bottle.

"Me too," Harry seconded, placing his bottle on the table. He paid Rosmerta, and they left the small pub.

"What did you have to shop for?" Ron pressed.

"Some things," Harry replied easily. "Someone's birthday is coming up."

"Whose?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"Leah's," Harry admitted, giving up all lies and pretenses. "You know, the baby Sirius is babysitting?"

"Oh, is it?" Hermione commented.

"She'll be one next Saturday," Harry informed her.

"Why won't she be with her parents? Don't they want to be with her on her birthday?" Hermione asked, not comprehending.

"She _will_ be with her parents-- her father, anyway," Harry replied.

"Bloody hell," Ron breathed. "_Sirius_ is her father?"

"No!" Harry exclaimed. "You've seen her. Does she look anything like him?"

"No, she doesn't," Hermione answered for him. "She rather looks like--" Harry stopped her.

"No speculations," Harry told her. "Not out loud, anyway. You'll find out the truth on Saturday-- that is, you _do_ want to come to her birthday party, right?"

"Of course," Hermione answered before Ron could object. "We would love to." Harry nodded in satisfaction.

Harry entered Gryffindor Tower, and decided he needed to consult with Draco. Harry laughed at how he regarded the Slytherin now, as opposed to how he had a year ago. How things change, he mused.

_Malfoy,_

_We need to talk._

_HP_

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

A school owl soared into the Slytherin Common Room and landed directly in front of Draco Malfoy. He took the note it carried, recognizing the handwriting. _You're getting smarter, Harry,_ Draco thought to himself.

_Malfoy,_

_We need to talk._

_HP_

Draco shook his head, not even wanting to know what the Gryffindor needed to talk about. They'd spent nearly two and a half hours bloody _talking_, what more could there possibly be to talk about?

"You're late," Harry smirked, tapping his watch. He was seated comfortably in the Room of Requirement.

"What's up?" Draco asked, not offering any excuse.

"What do you want me to tell them, as far as how you're involved in this?" Harry questioned.

"Tell them just as much as they need to know, and nothing more," Draco replied.

"Okay, then," Harry grinned. "I just wanted your opinion." Draco inclined his head.

"Well, I've got Herbology homework to finish, so I better go," Harry said as he stood from the chair.

"Crabbe and Goyle are probably looking for me. Honestly, those two can't think past their noses," Draco huffed. Harry laughed and left the room.

"Bye!" he called as he walked down the seventh floor corridor.

"Where'd you go?" Ron asked, not looking up from his Chocolate Frog as his best friend entered Gryffindor Tower.

"Had to go consult with a friend of mine," Harry replied simply. Ron nodded as he popped the frog in his mouth before it could hop away.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

Over the next seven days, Harry and Draco feverishly wrapped Leah's birthday presents in the limited free time they had. Neither teenager had their own room, so they were careful not to attract suspicion, placing Notice-Me-Not charms around them whenever they worked.

Finally, Saturday arrived. Hermione was at wit's end-- why wouldn't Harry come clean _before_ Saturday? Why must he pique her curiosity, then not tell his story? She was just glad it was finally Saturday; then, she would get some answers.

"I'm going to Grimmauld Place right after breakfast," Harry told Hermione and Ron at breakfast that morning. "Be at the Floo network in Gryffindor Tower at one o'clock. I'll meet you there." Hermione sighed, then nodded. Harry grinned and left faster than he could say "Gryffindor Rules".

"Hey, there's a ferret missing," Ron said, nudging Hermione in the ribs. She looked up from her food and noticed Malfoy was missing. Hmm. Where did that ferret go?

"You've got her presents?" Harry whispered to Draco as he entered the Room of Requirement. Draco patted his pocket gently, trying not to break anything. Harry nodded and threw some green powder on the roaring fire in the fireplace.

"Number twelve, Grimmauld Place!" Harry whispered. Draco stepped expertly into the green flames, and Harry followed behind him.

"Sirius?" Harry called out as they enlarged their presents.

"In here!" Sirius called. Draco began to rearrange the huge pile of presents in an empty corner of the large sitting room as Harry entered the kitchen.

"What's for breakfast?" Harry asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Applesauce," Sirius replied. "At least, that's what I've been trying to feed her."

"Dada!" Leah cried out.

"Hey, kiddo!" Harry smiled. "Are you being good for Sirius?"

"Except for meals, yeah," Sirius answered. "She naps well, she plays well, she hardly every cries or screams, but meals are like..."

"World War III?" Harry suggested. Sirius shot him a confused look before aiming another spoonful of applesauce into the little girl's mouth. She promptly closed her mouth and looked up at her father expectantly.

"Dada!" she whined. Harry grinned and took the bowl from his godfather.

"Why don't you go help Draco in the sitting room?" Harry suggested. Sirius nodded sheepishly and left the kitchen, throwing a dirty look at Leah, who giggled.

"Happy birthday, baby!" Harry exclaimed as he began to feed her the applesauce. She gurgled and opened her mouth obediently, allowing her father to deposit the applesauce in her mouth.

"Sirius!" Mrs. Weasley's voice called from the sitting room. "Sirius, are you here?"

"I'm in the closet, Molly," Sirius's muffled voice said. "Go on into the kitchen." _Thanks a bunch, Padfoot,_ Harry thought sarcastically.

"Harry! I didn't expect to see you here," Mrs. Weasley said surprised.

"Happy birthday, Miss Leah," she cooed, tickling the baby's feet. Leah giggled.

"What are you doing here, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she set to work, pulling bowls and ingredients out cabinets and cupboards.

"It's Leah's birthday," Harry said, watching her throw ingredients into the bowl expertly.

"Dada!" Leah demanded. Harry looked down at Leah, who wore an indignant expression. He chuckled, not noticing Mrs. Weasley had frozen in place.

"Sorry, kid, here you go," he said, shoveling more applesauce into her mouth.

"Harry, did she just call you 'Dada'?" Mrs. Weasley asked slowly, turning around to look at him. Harry suddenly became uncomfortable.

"Yes, she did," Harry said quietly, holding another spoonful to her mouth. She took it eagerly, then Harry gave her a Sippy cup of juice.

"Why did she call you that?" Mrs. Weasley pressed. Suddenly, all the color drained from her face. "Oh, Harry, Leah's not your...?"

"Yes. Leah is my daughter," Harry softly finished for her. Leah sucked noisily on her juice, oblivious to the confession happening around her.

"You'll be seeing Draco Malfoy around here, as well," Harry continued. "His sister is Leah's mother."

"Oh, Harry," Mrs. Weasley whispered. "Why isn't her mother here, then?"

"Chrissy...died," Harry said quietly. "She was eight months pregnant with Leah, and she committed suicide. She was taken to a Muggle hospital; they saved Leah, but Chrissy was too far gone."

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Weasley murmured. "If there's _ever_ anything I can do to help you, I'm always here."

"Thank you," Harry smiled. "You understand, of course, why this needs to be kept a secret?"

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley smiled. "My lips are sealed."

"This is the guest list, just so you aren't taken by surprise," Harry told her, handing her a piece of paper. Her eyes widened.

"Narcissa Malfoy, Harry? Are you sure?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"She has kept in touch with Sirius for quite some time; she was, in all honesty, a bit smarter than Sirius and Andromeda in that she kept her true beliefs to herself. Her beliefs are similar to Sirius's," Harry explained.

He knew the guest list by heart: Draco, Hermione, Ron, Narcissa, Andromeda, Tonks, Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, and Remus.

Six of the guests already knew Leah was Harry's daughter (Draco, Narcissa, Mrs. Weasley, Sirius, Andromeda, and Remus-- Remus had figured it out by her scent, and Narcissa had informed Andromeda), but the other three were still in the dark. Harry knew he'd have to tell the story several times.

"Harry! We know you're here!" Tonks's voice called out.

"I'm with Leah, we'll be right down!" Harry shouted back. He heard Tonks coming up the stairs and sighed. He held Leah up on her feet, scrutinizing her outfit, as he tried to figure out what was missing.

She wore a beautiful lavender dress with white lace around the collar, wrists, and the bottom hem, and she wore shiny black Mary Janes.

"You forgot the barrette," Tonks said wryly. Harry huffed.

"Yes, yes, yes," he said, setting her down on the changing table again.

"She's your daughter," Tonks said bluntly. It was not a question.

"Yes, she is," Harry admitted. "How'd you figure it out?"

"It's not that hard," Tonks informed him. "Anyone with eyes can see that she's your child." She held up two hands when Harry opened his mouth to speak, as if surrendering. "I don't want details," she said. "Are you going to fix her hair or what?" Harry, in a moment of utmost maturity, stuck his tongue out at her, grabbed the barrette, and aimed it at the infant's tuft of dark hair.

"Don't poke her eye out!" Tonks protested quickly.

"Like you're one to talk, with your coordination," Harry returned cheerfully.

Tonks smirked and swiftly took the barrette from his hand. She deftly swept the little girl's dark curls to the left and clipped them into place. The barrette, like the dress, was lavender; it was decorated with a small lavender bow.

"Beautiful!" Tonks announced, taking a step back to admire her handiwork.

Harry rolled his eyes and picked the little girl up. Tonks followed them downstairs, crashing into a pile of books on the way down. Harry chuckled under his breath, but didn't say anything.

"Miss Leah!" Sirius exclaimed as they entered the sitting room. "Don't you look lovely!" Harry smiled and set her down with his godfather.

He threw some Floo powder on the fire and spoke the words, "Gryffindor Tower, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry!"

Harry could see Ron and Hermione standing in front of the fireplace.

"Hello!" Harry called out cheerfully, making his presence known. Hermione jumped a little, then smiled.

"Hello, Harry," she returned. "We've been waiting."

"One o'clock, on the dot," Harry said, tilting his head toward the clock in the Tower. "Are you ready to step through? And please, keep your opinions to yourself when you see the people here. They do not harbor mal-intentions."

Hermione nodded cautiously, and Harry stepped back from the fireplace, noticing that Narcissa and Draco had inadvertently seated themselves closest to the Floo. _Great_, Harry thought sarcastically. _Just what we need-- Ron going ballistic the moment he steps out of the Floo_.

"Hello," Hermione smiled pleasantly as she stepped out of the fireplace. Shock flitted across her face momentarily, but was quickly replaced with a smile.

"Harry," Ron nodded as he stepped out of the green flames. He did a double take when he saw Draco, but-- to Harry's extreme surprise-- did not comment.

"I'd like to talk to you two alone, if you wouldn't mind," Harry said, looking at his two best friends, who nodded.

"Dada!" Leah wailed, watching her father move to leave the room.

"Stay here with Sirius," he told her.

"No!" she exclaimed, shaking her head. Harry rolled his eyes and held his arms out to her. She crawled over to him and held her arms out, waiting to be picked up. Harry complied, and led the way to the dining room.

"She called you 'Dada'," Ron said, staring at his best friend speculatively.

"Yes, she did," Harry admitted. He sat down in one of the chairs and sat Leah in his lap. She contented herself to playing with the sleeve of her father's clothes. Hermione watched him carefully.

"She was born a month premature; she was supposed to be born mid-June," Harry said quietly. "Her mother committed suicide May eighteenth; the Muggle doctors saved Leah, but not her mother."

"What are you saying, Harry?" Hermione asked softly.

"When I came back from Hogwarts, after fifth year, my aunt told me the Andersons had telephoned and told her that their daughter had a baby; she claimed it was mine," Harry said quietly. "Look at her-- does she look like me?"

"She has your eyes," Hermione replied, her voice low. "And your hair."

"She _is_ mine," Harry said softly. "She's been staying with Sirius this whole time. Leah-- well, she's become a permanent fixture in both of our lives. Neither of us can imagine what life would be like without her."

"Dada," Leah said quietly, pulling herself up to her father's face. She patted his cheek gently, as if to say "I'm not going anywhere." Harry smiled and kissed her forehead.

"What does... _Draco_ have to do with any of this?" Hermione asked.

"Co?" Leah asked eagerly, looking around the room.

"You can go see Uncle Draco in a minute, I promise," Harry told her.

"Uncle Draco?" Ron exploded. "What, are you bed buddies with Malfoy now?"

"If you would let me _finish_," Harry said sharply. "To make a long story short, Leah's mother is Draco's sister. Her magic was taken away from her; she was sent to live with Muggles."

"Does Dumbledore know?" Ron asked. "That Leah exists?"

"What would Dumbledore do if he found out about her?" Harry countered. "He'd turn her into another pawn in his game of Dark vs. Light. I don't want that for her. I just want her to be a normal kid."

"She will never be a normal child, so long as you are her father," Hermione informed him, smiling a little. Harry smiled back, agreeing fully with her statement.

"Are you guys okay with this?" Harry asked, looking each of his friends in the eye. "You can go back to Hogwarts, if you want. I'm not making you stay."

"Of course we'll stay!" Hermione exclaimed. "You're our best friend, Harry. No matter what happens, we'll always have your back." Harry smiled, and Hermione hugged him. She bent over and looked Leah in the eye.

"Hi, Leah, I'm your Aunt Hermione," Hermione said, smiling kindly. Leah babbled a bit, and Hermione chuckled, holding her hands out. Leah lifted her arms, and Hermione picked her up.

"That's your Uncle Ron," Hermione told her, turning her to face Ron. Leah waved to him, and Ron laughed.

"She sure is smart, for a one-year old," Ron commented, holding his hand out to his best friend. Harry took it, and they exchanged one of those macho one-armed hugs.

"Co!" Leah called out, not having forgotten her father's promise.

"Yes, we'll go see Uncle Draco," Harry told her, and three teenagers walked back into the sitting room, one carrying an infant.

"Co!" Leah shouted, squirming in Hermione's arms. She set her on the floor, and scrambled over to where Draco and Narcissa were sitting.

"Co! Nanananana!" Leah cried out excitedly, holding her arms out. Narcissa smiled and picked her up.

"Hi, sweetie," Narcissa said. Leah babbled on for a while before turning to Draco and ordering, "Co! Bah!"

"Fine, then," Draco said, sticking his tongue out at her. She giggled, then squirmed out of Narcissa's lap and onto the floor. She crawled over to her blocks, sat up, and turned to Draco expectantly.

"Co!" she ordered. Draco rolled his eyes aristocratically and joined her on the floor.

"The cake is ready," Mrs. Weasley whispered in Harry's ear. Harry nodded and followed her out of the sitting room. He cast an Incendio Charm on the candle wicks, picked up the cake, and carried it out to the sitting room, Mrs. Weasley not far behind.

Ten people sang Happy Birthday to the birthday girl, who stared at the icing eagerly. Finally, the singing ended, and Harry held the cake to her; she was seated on Tonks's lap.

"Blow on the candles, Leah," Harry instructed. When she blew, Harry blew with her, and all the candles went out. Flashes went off from everywhere in the room; everyone was trying to get a picture of the birthday girl.

Everybody cheered, and Mrs. Weasley took the cake back into the kitchen-- not before Leah got a handful of icing, however. Her whole hand was covered in the pale pink icing, and she licked at it happily.

Mrs. Weasley quickly cut the cake and had everyone eating a piece, even Remus, who had, at first, turned down a slice. He quickly realized one could not say no to Molly Weasley; and he accepted a piece.

"Time for presents!" Sirius called out, rubbing his hands together and _Evanesco_-ing his plate and fork. He set Leah in Harry's lap; Leah received the packages, and Harry was given the cards-- she had no use for those.

"To Leah: Happy birthday! Love, Nana Malfoy," Harry read the card as Sirius handed Leah a large package. Harry gently tore one corner of the wrapping paper, and Leah grabbed the corner and pulled it as far as she could.

"It's a train set," Narcissa explained before Harry could ask. "You set the tracks up on the floor, and she can ride the train." Harry smiled and whispered something in the baby's ear.

"Tay yoo Nanananana!" Leah called out, looking her nana in the eyes. Narcissa smiled.

"You're very welcome," Narcissa responded.

"Happy birthday Leah! Love, Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione," Harry read the next tag. He looked up at his friends. Hermione blushed.

"I fixed it after you told us," she informed him. Harry smiled, and Leah tore the paper off the package, which turned out to be three baby board books.

"There's an Unbreakable Charm on them," Hermione told Harry. Leah flipped open the first one, and squealed as the characters on the page moved around. Harry nudged the little girl.

"Tay yoo!" she said instantly. Ron smiled, and Harry took the next card.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

It was a long and fun-filled day for everyone involved, especially the little girl who was the center of it all: Leah. She was starting to get cranky around eight o'clock, and Harry decided it was time she went to bed. She hadn't had an afternoon nap, and he figured she was overtired.

"Bedtime, cutie?" he asked, taking her from Andromeda. Leah settled into his arms, resting her head on her father's shoulder.

"Say bye-byes to everybody," he whispered. She waved to everyone sleepily, and Harry smiled.

"I'll be right back," he said quietly, beginning his ascent to the attic.

"Did you have a good day, honey?" he asked softly as he changed her into a pair of feety pajamas.

"Dada," she whispered in reply, her eyes closing sleepily. He smiled and placed her in her crib. He kissed her forehead, whispering, "I love you, my Leah."

"I'd better be going," Narcissa said shortly after Harry returned downstairs.

"I'll go with you," Andromeda volunteered. "Tonks, are you ready to go?"

"Remus and I need to make a stop," Tonks told her mother. "Go without us." Harry raised his eyebrows, wondering if Remus had finally consented to Tonks's wishes.

"Thank you for coming," Harry said as Narcissa and Andromeda hugged him. He hugged them back, and they stepped outside and Disapparated.

"We've got to wait until midnight or so," Harry told his friends. "There's usually no one in the Common Room then."

"Remus and I have a quick stop to make, so we'd better be going," Tonks announced. Harry raised an eyebrow at the two, who looked like deer caught in headlights.

"I finally agreed," Remus admitted.

"Way to go, Moony!" Sirius exclaimed, clapping his friend on the back. Tonks rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at Harry, who laughed.

"Bye, thanks for coming," Harry smiled. Remus hugged him and Tonks kissed his cheek before they tripped (well, Tonks tripped) out the door.

"Arthur will be home soon, I should go as well," Mrs. Weasley said. "Be good, you four," she reminded, looking each of the four teenagers in the eye.

"And you behave yourself," she added sternly, turning to the man of the house, who put on an innocent face. Mrs. Weasley rolled her eyes and took her leave.

"See that? Mrs. Weasley already fawns over you like you're one of her own," Harry teased, turning to Draco. Hermione and Draco had gotten on well, once Draco had explained that his behavior was an act, but Ron still held ill feelings toward the blond, and they had stayed clear of each other through the afternoon and into the evening.

"Let's clean this place up," Hermione suggested, picking up a few cups she found on the floor.

"Hermione Granger." Hermione looked up into Harry's emerald eyes. "Are you a witch or not?" Hermione smiled sheepishly and pulled out her wand.

"This place was made Untraceable," Sirius reassured her. "My mother made sure of that."

"Speaking of your mother, what happened to her portrait? She hasn't screamed all night," Hermione asked.

"I took care of her," Sirius announced smugly. Hermione's and Harry's eyes met, and they busted up laughing.

"Like the Mafia?" Harry gasped between laughter.

"It's a Muggle thing," Draco informed the two purebloods, rolling his eyes.

"_Reparo_," Harry incanted once he got his breath back.

"_Evanesco_," Hermione said repeatedly, pointing her wand at plates, forks, napkins, and cups all around the room.

"Mrs. Weasley cleaned up the kitchen? She didn't have to do that," Harry said, looking around the tidy kitchen.

"Less for us to do," Ron said matter-of-factly.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

At about midnight, Draco Flooed back to Slytherin House, and Hermione, Ron, and Harry Flooed to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Before I forget," Draco had said before entering the green flames, "I need to speak with you tomorrow. I'll send a note."

Harry had an idea what they would be discussing-- a certain Voldemort's spy whose identity was, at this point, unknown to him.

* * *

Dedicated to Nana RIP 1.15.2005

Twelve pages. Whew! I need a Dunkin' Donuts caramel swirl iced latte with skim milk, no sugar, and extra caramel. (Go try it, it is unbelievably fabulous. If you don't have a Dunkin' Donuts near you, or don't know what it is, I am so sorry. I don't know how you make it through the day.)

Yeah, so more fluff, but there was some important stuff I needed to get out of the way, and Leah's birthday seemed to be a good setting for it. More action coming soon, I swear.

For anyone who is around young children often enough to notice this, yes, Leah is acting more like a sixteen-month old or an eighteen-month old than a baby who has just turned one. (Yes, I realize most babies don't say their first word until after their first birthday.) My only excuse is that I'm basing her off a combination of my thirteen-month old nephew and an extremely smart sixteen-month old, who can hum the entirety of the Happy Birthday song. (His parents have no idea where he picked it up. I think it's hilarious.) But yeah, sorry about that. My apologies. Leah's limited vocabulary seemed to be a quicker way to get Harry to fess up to his fatherhood than to "listen" to Harry's thoughts while he tried to figure out what to say.

Leah's vocabulary (in case you were wondering): Dada (Daddy), Co (Draco), Nanananana (Nana), and No.

Thank you to everyone who reviews, it's a great help to me, and plus I love to read them! So please review! Even just one word. Even just "update" is fine by me. You can just write a quote from the chapter, if you want. I'd just like a few more reviews, please. I know there's a bunch of you reading this who don't review-- how would this story get over 8,000 hits otherwise?-- and I'd appreciate it tremendously if you would take three seconds out of your busy lives to write even a one word review.

I have anonymous reviews enabled, so you don't even have to log in or have an account or anything! I'm making it as easy as I can! :) Whatever you feel like writing, please write it. Again, thank you to all my reviewers! You guys are the inspiration I need to write!

Um, I have to go read my summer reading book. I've read the Twilight Saga forty-two times already (it's fabulous, if you haven't read it go read it now!!), but I haven't even made it through chapter one of my summer reading book. And school starts Wednesday. Oops.

I wasn't aware that I've had diplopia for as long as I can remember (I know, right? How do you not know that you have double vision?), so I've gotta go see the eye doctor dude and get either glasses, or eye exercises, or both. What happens with that, combined with the amount of homework I get (I've got English 11 Honors first semester, and World History second semester) will affect my updating speed.

I'm hoping to have another chapter out by September 18th. Why September 18th? I don't know, but I figure I need a goal. So that's my goal. :D lol Please review!!


	8. Enter Spy Stage Left

Disclaimer: if you've made it this far and still think it's mine, then I obviously haven't made it clear enough. THIS DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I only own Chrissy... Leah... and other select parts of the plot. :)

Um, I didn't meet the deadline I set for myself. Sorry, guys. :( I have been and still am really overwhelmed with school work (never EVER take Physics Honors of your own volition!), so I haven't quite had the all time to write that I would have liked. Did you know that in three weeks, I've already been assigned a total of seven projects? And five of them were due last week? And three of them were for one class, and two for another? It sucks, let me tell you. Avoid having English 11 Honors and Physics Honors in the same semester, if you can. It's death.

Guys, we increased the hits to this story by 2,000 hits! I'm super excited! :D

Thanks for the TONS of reviews, guys, I was so excited when I read them all! :)

For those of you who are wondering (I got a few reviews about this), I'm **not** giving this story up. There may be spits of time that I just don't even have time to breathe, never mind write (I'm sure you can all relate to that!), but it won't be discontinued, I swear. I'm trying to deal with boat loads of school work right now (and I'm doing winter colorguard this year-- eek!), so updates will be even less frequent, if that's even possible. I don't update as often as I would like to, I confess.

So. The chapter you've all been eagerly awaiting. Enjoy! :)

* * *

Chapter 7: Enter Spy Stage Left

_Potter,_

_This piece of parchment will self-destruct when you are finished reading it. Meet me in the Room of Requirement at exactly half past one. I will be expecting you._

_D.M._

The piece of parchment caught on fire by some imaginary lit match, and Harry watched it burn into a pile of ashes.

"I'll be back," Harry said to his friends, noting the time-- quarter past one. _Nothing like last-minute planning_, Harry thought sarcastically to himself.

"Where are you going?" Hermione demanded, not lifting her eyes from her Potions textbook.

"I have to meet with a _friend_," Harry emphasized. The brown-haired girl smiled knowingly, finally looking up from her book.

"We'll be here for a while, and then at dinner," she replied. "Don't forget to finish your Defense homework, Harry!"

"I won't," he called back as he ducked through the portrait hole.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

The blonde-haired Malfoy heir sat on a black, overstuffed chair in the Room of Requirement. His elbows rested on the arms of the chair, his fingertips pressed together. He contemplated ways to tell the Gryffindor icon who the spy was-- Draco's father had known for some time now who the spy was, and Draco had assumed it was only a matter of time before Lucius slipped.

How right the Slytherin was-- Lucius slipped during a letter he had written his son. _Dung is making the fall of the Order easier day by day_, Lucius had written. Draco had known better than to ask who this Dung person was; the head of the Malfoy family would have most likely Obliviated him with no one the wiser.

"Draco, what's up?" Harry asked as he joined the blond in the Room of Requirement, bringing the Slytherin out of his musings.

"My father slipped," Draco replied simply. Harry froze in place.

"And?" Harry asked, waiting expectantly.

"What do you know about a man named Dung?" Draco asked, watching his niece's father's face carefully.

"Dung?" Harry breathed. "No way..."

"Who is Dung?" Draco questioned impatiently. What could have brought on such an incredulous reaction?

"Dung is Mundungus Fletcher," Harry explained. "He's a thief, and he sells the stuff he steals. He's always stealing from Order headquarters. But the Order keeps him around in case he hears something underground."

"He's not exactly a first class citizen," Draco summarized, waiting for the Gryffindor to explain his reaction. Harry nodded.

"Remus said Dumbledore once helped Dung out of a tight spot," Harry continued, "and that's why he helps the Order-- or helped the Order, I guess." _That's _why he was so surprised? Draco thought to himself. Stupid Gryffindors and their loyalty. You'd swear the lot were Hufflepuffs.

"I don't know what Voldemort asked Dung to do, other than the obvious," Draco explicated. "I know if I ask my father for details, he'll realize he slipped and Obliviate me. And neither of us can really afford to be Obliviated at this point, there's too much at stake here." Like my niece's life, he added silently.

"The lives of innocent people," Harry murmured.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

_"Where are you going?" Hermione demanded, not lifting her eyes from her Potions textbook._

_"I have to meet with a friend," Harry emphasized. The brown-haired girl smiled knowingly, finally looking up from her book._

_"We'll be here for a while, and then at dinner," she replied. "Don't forget to finish your Defense homework, Harry!"_

"I won't," he called back as he ducked through the portrait hole.

After Harry left his friends in Gryffindor Common Room, he raced to the Room of Requirement. He had a faint idea what the Slytherin wanted to talk about, but he wanted to hear it from the blonde's own mouth.

"Draco, what's up?" he asked as he closed the door to the Room of Requirement behind him. Draco seemed to shake himself out of his thoughts.

"My father slipped," he replied. Harry froze. He'd suspected Draco had known, but to hear it confirmed by the Slytherin was, well, shocking.

"And?" Harry asked, trying to hide his impatience.

"What do you know about a man named Dung?" the blonde asked, watching his face carefully. Harry's mind raced-- _Dung_? _Dung_ is Voldemort's insider?

"Dung?" Harry breathed. "No way..."

"Who is Dung?" Draco asked, not hiding his impatience. Harry tried to gather his thoughts and form a coherent sentence.

"Dung is Mundungus Fletcher," he clarified. "He's a thief, and he sells the stuff he steals. He's always stealing from Order headquarters." Harry suppressed a growl, and continued. "But the Order keeps him around in case he hears something underground."

"He's not exactly a first-class citizen," the blonde summarized. Harry nodded.

"Remus said Dumbledore once helped Dung out of a tight spot, and that's why he helps the Order-- or helped, I guess," Harry corrected himself. He wondered what Voldemort could have promised Mundungus in order for him to change sides.

"I don't know what Voldemort asked Dung to do, other than the obvious," Draco responded. "I know if I ask my father for details, he'll realize he slipped and Obliviate me. And neither of us can really afford to be Obliviated at this point, there's too much at stake here."

"The lives of innocent people," Harry murmured, thinking of his daughter.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Dung?" Ron whispered. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Harry replied grimly. "Lucius said so himself."

"Are you sure Mundungus isn't under the Imperius Curse?" Hermione asked quietly. Ron groaned.

"You can't just believe that Dung switched sides, can you," Ron complained.

"I can!" Hermione protested defiantly. "But you have to look at it from all angles!"

"Hermione's right, actually," Harry voiced his opinion. "Dung could be under the Imperius Curse, for all we know. We'll just have to do some detective work and find out."

"Harry, there's no way to find out if someone's been under the Imperius Curse, you know that," Hermione said softly.

"I know," Harry admitted. "But we'll have to find something."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"There's no way to find out if someone is under the Imperius Curse," Draco said at once.

"I know there isn't!" Harry exclaimed, frustrated. "But we have to find out somehow. We have to put an end to whoever is doing this, whether we have to take down Mundungus or take down whoever has him Imperiused."

"I can get a pass for the Restricted Section from my godfather," Draco said in hushed tones. "You look in the library at Order headquarters. Chances are, the Blacks have extensive Dark Arts books." Harry nodded.

"Don't do anything until you've talked to me," Draco said fiercely, looking the Gryffindor straight in the eye. "Some of these Dark spells have extremely powerful repercussions." Harry nodded, looking a little taken aback at the blonde's outburst.

"I've got Hermione and Ron in on the act, too," Harry replied. "I'll pass along your warning." Draco nodded, seemingly satisfied.

* * *

I hope I didn't confuse anybody with the change in POVs midway through. I just thought I would show both Harry and Draco's thoughts. If you're confused, let me know, and I'll try to un-confuse you. :)

Sorry this is so short, I'm running on a serious case of writer's block and a limited amount of time. Well, I guess it's not writer's block, because I know what I want to say and where I want to go with this, but I just can't seem to get it written out. I felt like you people reading this deserved an update, and this is as far as I seem to be able to get right now. So maybe we'll have an update before October, I highly doubt it, but we'll see. Okay, I must go, I have an English project and a Physics project to work on (I really hate those classes with a passion!), so see you next chapter! Please review, it inspires me to write faster! :) See you next update!

PS **Who watched Stephenie Meyer on The Ellen Degeneres Show on Thursday? **I was so angry that she didn't talk about Midnight Sun or anything! She just said everything that's on her website! She didn't say anything we didn't know already! I was upset. :'( I was hoping she'd discuss Midnight Sun and what's happening with that, but she didn't say nada! I was like **WTF!!** :) lol okay, just wanted to share. :D And who thinks the Midnight Sun scandal is horrible and terrible?? I refuse to read the leaked chapters. I want the actual book.

Okay, enough Twilight stuff, go review please! Reviews motivate me to write more. :D


	9. Nothing Is Impossible Except Slammin

Disclaimer: ((laughs hysterically))

OMG, I'm sooooo sorry for the lack of updates, pleaseee don't hurt meee! I haven't given up, I've just had zero time, between gymnastics, colorguard, Christmas this week, my birthday last week, and just everything else. Writing, unfortunately, seemed to take the backseat to other things. But now I'm on vacation, so I've got a little free time! :) And plus, I didn't really know where I wanted to go with this, so that didn't help either. :) haha!

So now I've got a ginormous (spell check tells me that isn't a word, I must respectfully disagree) cup of steaming hot chocolate with a splash of French vanilla coffee creamer and some milk topped off with a dollop of Fluffernutter, a bag of natural Cheetos (OMG so good!), and a handful of Shaw's chocolate chip cookies. And it's one o'clock in the morning. Oh yes, I'm ready to write! :)

Thanks to all my reviewers, I love all of you, you all encourage me to write! Thank you!

* * *

Chapter 8: Nothing Is Impossible ... Except Slamming Revolving Doors

"The Imperius Curse," Harry said briskly as he sat down next to Ron and Hermione in the Common Room. "What do you know about it?"

"It controls whoever it is cast on," Hermione said slowly.

"There's no way to tell if someone is being controlled by it," Ron chimed in.

"That's the flaw in the Imperius, isn't it? Or benefit, I suppose," Harry added as an afterthought. "You can't tell who is being affected by it."

"Where are you going with this, Harry?" Hermione asked quizzically.

"What would you do if you needed-- absolutely, undeniably, desperately _needed_-- to know if someone was under the Imperius Curse?" Harry continued, giving his two best friends appraising looks.

"There is no way to tell-- that is, a way that exists right now. You'd need to... create a new spell," Hermione said hesitantly.

"What types of spells would be needed to tell if someone is under the Imperius Curse?" Harry asked.

"You would need some type of an identifying spell, to identify the curse," Hermione ticked off on her fingers. "A tracking spell would be necessary if you wanted to track who had cast the Imperius in the first place. A diagnostic spell may be needed to tell how long said person has been under the Imperius Curse. If you're planning on removing the curse, you'll need a protection spell of sorts to prevent the caster from discovering the person is no longer subject to the curse."

"So basically, all of these spells separately wouldn't do it, but if you combined them, they would work like a well-oiled machine," Harry added.

"Like a puzzle," Hermione agreed. "Separately, the pieces make up nothing. But together..."

"I'm really confused," Ron piped up. "What do puzzles and chamines have to do with the Imperius curse?"

"_Machine_, Ronald, the word is _machine_," Hermione corrected him exasperatedly. "And they have _everything_ to do with the Imperius."

"In order to identify the Imperius, we need to know the Imperius, inside and out," Harry continued. "I'm going to take the Cloak tonight and check out the Restricted Section."

"Why are we trying to beat the Imperius Curse, Harry?" Ron asked.

"To find out if Mundungus is under the Imperius," Harry replied simply.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Here's a thought," Harry said to Draco as they pored through books in the Restricted Section. "What if a series of spells were to be combined to create one detection spell?"

"Granger's idea," Draco remarked.

"Yes," Harry admitted.

"Not half bad," Draco answered.

"Listen, there is _no way_ right at this exact moment to trace the Imperius Curse," Harry said, putting down the book he had been going through. "I say we give this combining spells theory a try. What do you think?"

"I think we should make a list of spells that need to be combined in order for this to work," Draco replied. "Then we can test combinations. Granger takes Ancient Runes, doesn't she?"

"She does," Harry confirmed.

"Then she'll be able to combine the spells," Draco said confidently.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Draco thinks it's a good idea," Harry relayed to Hermione and Ron in hushed tones over dinner. "We need to make a list of spells to combine, then we can combine them and test them." Hermione pulled out a sheet of parchment and began to write quickly.

"These are a few spells that need to be included no matter what," Hermione explained, indicating a short list of four spells. "They are elementary magic and are required for a spell to work. They're kind of like the building blocks for a spell, I suppose." Harry nodded.

"We'll need an identifying spell, a very generic one," Harry said, writing down 'identifying spell' beneath Hermione's neat scrawl.

"You'll also need a tracking spell, diagnostic spell, and protection spell," Hermione dictated. Harry added those to the list.

"The Tempus charm will also be needed, it will have to be combined with the diagnostic spell before being combined with the others," Hermione added, thinking quickly. Harry wrote 'Tempus charm-- combine with diagnostic before combining with others'.

"We'll need some kind of signal, to tell us if the Imperius Curse is being used," Ron suggested.

"A signal charm, perfect," Hermione smiled brilliantly. Harry scratched out 'signal charm' on the list.

Over the next five minutes, charms and spells of all sorts were added to the list, until the page was nearly three-fourths filled.

"How the _hell_ do we combine all of these spells?" Ron asked in awe as he stared at the list.

"That," Harry said confidently, "is where our resident Ancient Runes expert comes in." He gave Hermione an appraising look.

"Fine," she sighed. "I'll take a look at it and let you know." Harry smiled and made a copy of the list for Draco.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Potter! Malfoy!" Snape barked. "Since you cannot _end_ your incessant chatter, take a seat right here, you are partners until further notice!" Harry grumbled under his breath.

"Professor!" Harry protested.

"Do as your told, Potter, for _once_ in your miserable life," Snape hissed.

"But, sir--" Draco began to protest.

"_I said shut up, Malfoy!_" Snape snarled. Draco rolled his eyes, his back to the professor.

"Thanks," Harry murmured under his breath. Draco inclined his head so marginally that had Harry not been paying attention, he wouldn't have noticed.

"Do you have it?" Draco whispered so quietly Harry could barely hear him. It was Harry's turn to nod fractionally. He inconspicuously "dropped" the inch square piece of parchment (thanks to a shrinking spell) into a compartment in Draco's bag.

"What are you dunderheads waiting for? Get moving!" Snape barked. With the screech of twenty chairs against the dungeon floor, a muted chatter picked up, and the sound of ingredients being chopped up, beakers clanking together, and cauldrons being placed over fire overpowered the minimal chatter.

"Chop this, would you?" Draco said bitterly, handing Harry a small bundle of something green that looked like grass. Harry carefully chopped it into small pieces.

"Four stirs clockwise, three counter," Harry instructed the blond, who did as he was instructed. The mixture turned a turquoise color.

"It is very lucky for you, Potter," Snape said silkily as he examined their potion, "that you get to work with Mr. Malfoy, yes?"

"Of course, sir," Harry said quietly, stirring the potion.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"I've done as much as I can, but it isn't nearly enough," Hermione explained at dinner, sounding apologetic. "I've gotten a few of the spells to combine-- the Tempus charm combined with the diagnostic spell easily-- but there's still a ton to be done. Can Malfoy do any of this?"

"He grew up with a man who kisses the ground Voldemort walks on, I'm sure he knows a thing or two about making spells," Harry replied. "I'll talk to him about it."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Malfoy, a word?" Harry said coolly as he walked by the blond Slytherin in the library. Draco stood fluidly and followed the Gryffindor.

"How is the spell coming?" Draco asked as Harry erected the _Muffliato_ charm around them.

"Hermione's running into trouble with the runes," Harry explained. "She wrote a note for you." He handed the Slytherin a piece of parchment, which said Slytherin read carefully.

"Ah, I see," Draco remarked. "All you'd have to do is..." Draco continued to mumble to himself under his breath.

"Look, I don't know what any of what you just said means, so how about you get together with Hermione and discuss it," Harry suggested. Draco nodded.

"Room of Requirement, one quarter of an hour," Draco said abruptly. With a wave of his wand, the spell Harry had cast was banished, and he stalked away aristocratically.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Room of Requirement, five minutes," Harry panted as he caught up with the brown-haired Gryffindor.

"Five minutes? Why didn't you tell me sooner?!" Hermione demanded.

"It took me... ten minutes... to find you," Harry gasped out, breathing heavily.

"Fine, I'll go," Hermione decided. She collected her Ancient Runes textbooks and notes and walked out of the common room.

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Hello?" Hermione called out as she entered the Room of Requirement. "Anyone here?"

"Granger," Draco responded crisply.

"Merlin, Malfoy," Hermione gasped, her hand to her chest. "Give me a second to restart my heart, would you?" Draco smirked.

"Let's get down to business," Draco answered, setting down a thick book he'd brought with him. Hermione organized her notes around her and sat down, looking at Draco expectantly. Draco sat down on the floor with her.

"Now, if you combine this spell here like this..."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO

"Where's Hermione? Haven't seen her for a while now," Ron remarked.

"She's with Draco in the Room of Requirement," Harry replied, not looking up from his Potions textbook.

"_She's where?!_" Ron shouted.

"Ron, give it a break," Harry said calmly, scratching out another sentence on a roll of parchment.

"_Our_ Hermione is with that... that... gah!" Ron hissed loudly.

"You've made your opinion about him _very_ clear, Ron," Harry said coldly, finally looking up from his essay. "I trust him, and I would hope that you would trust my judgment."

"Well, yeah, but..." Ron stammered. Harry stood and gathered his things.

"Then there is no more to say on the subject," Harry replied, his voice as cold as ice. He turned on his heel and left the Common Room.

* * *

What are your thoughts on a Draco/Hermione relationship? In this story in particular, not canon or anything.

In other news, merry Christmas to all you Christmas-celebrators out there! :) haha and to everyone else... happy ((insert holiday here))! :D lol happy new year!

PS If I wrote a House fic, would you read it? I have the prologue of one written, but I'm not convinced I should post it on here.

Please please please please _pleaseeee_ review! Thanks sooooo much to everyone who reviews! You guys are the best!


	10. Pieces of the Puzzle

OH. MY. GOD. Please don't hurt me! I know it's been a very humongous ginormous long time since I updated. Colorguard season is over now, so I finally have more time to update! :) Of course, you know that I don't own any of this. Now let's get to the story!

Chapter Nine: Pieces of the Puzzle

_

* * *

_

Come to the Room of Requirement ASAP.  
_--DM_

"Ron, come with me," Harry said as he burned the note.

"Where are we going?" Ron asked as he hurried to catch up to the black-haired wizard.

"The Room of Requirement," Harry replied as they dashed up the stairs.

"Hello?" Harry called out as he gently pushed the big wooden door open. Draco flopped back onto his chair, gulping down water. Hermione sat upright, scrutinizing a sheet of parchment.

"We've gotten the spells and charms to combine!" Hermione reported excitedly as she finally put the sheet of parchment down. She wiped beads of sweat off her forehead. "It was difficult work, but we figured out the pieces of the puzzle!"

"Excellent," Harry nodded proudly. "Has it been tested?"

"We tested it on rats and mice, much to Granger's protest," Draco informed him. "It was only after I gave a wizard's oath that I would not harm the creatures that she allowed for the testing."

"That's our Hermione!" Ron put in. Hermione sniffed and rolled her eyes.

"And…?" Harry asked.

"We Imperiused three mice in a group of ten (then did the same with rats), and all three in each trial were identified," Hermione replied.

"I conjured rabbits, cats, and dogs, and all were correctly identified," Draco reported. "I think we're ready to try it on humans."

"I'll Imperius Ron," Harry volunteered. Ron's eyes went wide.

"Why me? Why not Malfoy?" Ron protested.

"_Draco_ needs to be alert to help Hermione with the spell, so that puts the two of them out of the running. And you can't cast the Imperius curse. I can," Harry explained. Ron sighed.

"Fine," he agreed grudgingly. "Let me brace myself first." Ron squeezed his eyes shut, then nodded after a moment.

"I'm ready," he replied. Harry suppressed laughter.

"Ron, I'm not going to hurt you," he replied. "Here goes. _Imperio!_"

_Jump up and down_, Harry thought. Ron began jumping up and down.

_Now stop!_ Harry directed. Ron stopped jumping.

_Balance on one foot_, Harry ordered. Ron balanced on his right foot effortlessly.

"Deprehensio creatura sub a vomica validus satis inclino suus mos in ventus of iacio; deprehensio quod dico quisnam iacio talis an malum vomica; deprehensio quod attero malum vomica, aufero is ex creatura animus," Hermione incanted. She could see a fog of letters appear over Ron's head.

"Ron is under the curse," Hermione said. "Good, it detects it in humans." The fog formed more letters.

"The castor is Harold James Potter-- excellent, it knows," Hermione nodded. Suddenly, Ron's left foot slammed into the ground.

"Merlin, mate! I thought I was going to fall over!" Ron exclaimed.

"And it removed the curse," Hermione finished. "I think this spell is ready for Dung."

"What does that Latin mean?" Harry asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"'Detect the creature under a curse powerful enough to bend his will in favor of the castor; detect and tell who casts such an evil curse; detect and destroy the curse, remove it from the creature's soul'," Draco recited.

"The only drawback is that we can't tell if he _was_ under the Imperius Curse, you know?" Harry said, trying to be as gentle as possible.

"We thought of that," Hermione responded. "Well, I thought of it. So we came up with a second spell." She turned to Ron and pointed her wand at him. He put his hands up in the air defensively.

"Deprehensio vomica quod moror huic creatura animus; deprehensio quisnam subactus him ut is inhumanus vomica; deprehensio ut is penuriosus creatura eram subactus ut is atrox vomica," she incanted. Once again, a fog appeared over Ron's head.

"It means 'Detect the curse which lingers in this creature's soul; detect who subjected him to this cruel curse; detect when this poor creature was subjected to this terrible curse,'" Draco explained in low tones.

"Harold James Potter cast the curse," Hermione said. "It was cast on 29 May 1998 at 19:32:14." Harry nodded as he checked his pocket watch for the time.

"The time and date are right," Harry confirmed. "Looks like this is good to go. When are we going to see Mundungus, though?"

"There is a meeting coming up," Hermione said. "Perhaps we can try it on him then."

"Should we tell Sirius?" Ron asked.

"No," Harry said firmly. "The less people involved the better." Harry thanked Draco and Hermione for all their efforts, and then he and Ron headed for the exit. Once they were outside the door, Hermione turned to Draco.

"Good work," she said awkwardly, holding out a hand. Draco looked at her hand, then into her eyes. Without a moment's hesitation, his lips crushed hers.

"Hermione? You coming?" Ron called. Hermione reluctantly pulled away from the Slytherin, collected her things, then ran to the exit, calling out, "I'm coming!"

Draco put a finger on his lips.

* * *

I know that was short. I'm sorry! :( I'm on April vacation all this week, so hopefully I'll be updating again soon. Review, please! Reviews make me write faster hint hint ;)


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